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THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  DATE 
INDICATED  BELOW  AND  IS  SUB- 
JECT TO  AN  OVERDUE  FINE  AS 
POSTED  AT  THE  CIRCULATION 
DESK. 


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S02065284  R 


PREFACE 


In  issuing  this  treatise  on  "The  Peanut  and  Its  Culture,"  the 
purpose  of  the  Editor  is  to  present  to  its  readers  such  infor- 
mation regarding  the  peanut  industry  as  will  be  of  value  to 
all  persons  engaged  in  the  growing  or  the  handling  of  this  im- 
i)ortant  crop,  with  special  attention  to  the  methods  that  have 
obtained  the  best  results  among 
all  varieties  of  peanuts. 

The  suggestions  and  advice  sq 
clear  and  concise,  so  that  every^ 
tlieiu  and  profit. by  them.  One 
this,  they  are  all  practical.  Tht 
on  the  actual  experience  and  ol 
ful  growers. 


Petersburg,  Va.,  May,  1905. 


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below  and  is  subject  to  an  overdue 
fine  as  posted  at  the  circulation  desk 


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r. — .n,,  .^V  ^**^e  uue  will  he 
earlier  if  this  item  is  RECALLED 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

ixtroductiox,        -       -       -       - 7 

Magnitude  of  the  Peanut  Cm^ 9 

Origin  and  Botany  of  the¥eanut, 11 

Peculiarities  of  the  Peanut  Pdant, 12 

The  Peanut  a  Fruit,  not  a  Vegetable, 13 

Varieties  of  the  Peanut  and  Their  Special  Uses,  -       -  14 

Domestic  Uses  of  the  Peanut, -       -  17 

Breeding  Seed  Peanuts, 19 

Dealers'  Comment  on  Seed  Selection, 22 

The  Peanut,       -       - ,        -       -  22 

Cultivation  of  the  Peanut  " -       -  25 

How  Peanuts  are  Harvested, 30 

How  TO  Cultivate  and  Harvest  Spanish  Peanuts,       -       -  34 

The  Peanut  "Popper,"          - 39 

Peanut  Culture  in  Arkansas, 40 

Adaptability  of  the  Peanut  to  the  Arid  West,       -       -  43 

How  Peanuts  are  Prepared  by  Factories  for  the  Trade,    -  44 

Spanish  Peanut  Industry  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  -       -       -  46 

Virginia  Peanut  Industry  at  Norfolk,  Va.,     -       -       -       -  47 

Peanut  Industry  at  Suffolk,  Va., 49 

Foreign    Peanuts, ----49 

(Frauce,  Spain,  Africa,  Mala^-  Archipelago,  Chiua,  Japan.) 

ARACHIDES   in    ]MaRSEILLK, 00 

How  Peanut  Oil  is  JNIade, 57 

The  Peanut  as  a  Food, 5S 

Comparative  Weights  and  Prices, 59 

Prices  of  Peanuts  each  Month  fro^i  January  1st,  1900 

to  June  1.st,  1905, 60 

Index,       -.-.-.----...  61 


INTRODUCTION. 


Just  fifty  years  ago  peanuts  were  grown  in  America  only 
in  the  gardens  of  a  few  persons  in  the  Tidewater  counties  of 
Virginia  and  the  Carolinas,  almost  as  curiosities.  They  were 
intended  solely  for  family  use,  and  but  few  were  grown  for  this 
purpose. 

The  commercial  value  of  the  peanut  in  this  country  dates 
from  the  years  immediately  following  the  Civil  War.  Soldiers 
had  discovered  that  peanuts  were  excellent  food,  and  when  they 
returned  from  the  war  they  assigned  a  larger  space  to  peanut 
culture.  The  acreage  has  continued  to  increase  until  the  pea- 
nut crop  has  assumed  a  greater  importance  in .  the  Tidewater 
counties  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  than  the  corn  and  the 
wheat  crops,  and  has  displaced  many  other  profit  crops. 

The  peanut  is  now  a  commercial  crop  of  great  importance, 
and  is  extensively  gi'own  in  five  continents.  Though  so  widely 
cultivated,  it  remained  for  Americ^fTto  demonstrate  the  value  of 
the  nut  as  a  delicacy,  while  we  are  indebted  to  a  colonist  at  Goree, 
near  Cape  Verde,  for  demonstrating  its  commercial  value.  In 
America  the  peanut  is  grown  in  most  of  the  Northern  and 
Western  States  in  addition  to  all  the  Southern  States,  and  is 
cultivated  in  gardens  as  far  north  as  Canada.  The  annual  crop 
of  this  country  is  about  300,000,000  pounds,  nearly  two-thirds 
of  which  is,  at  present,  produced  in  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina. It  is  estimated  that  about  350,000  acres  of  land  are  de- 
voted to  peanut  culture  in  the  United  States  each  year,  and  that 
there  are  175,000  persons  employed  in  producing  and  harvest- 
ing this  crop. 

Of  the  total  crop,  more  than  one-half  is  cleaned  and  prepared 
for  the  market  by  the  factories  in  Petersburg.  Suffolk  and  Nor- 
folk, in  Virginia.  Peanut  cleaning  and  shelling  is  now  one  of 
the  most  important  industries  in  the  Old  Dominion.  There 
are  twenty-five  re-cleaning  plants  in  this  State,  representing  a 
capital  of  several  millions  of  dollars. 

Nearly  the  entire  crop  of  American  peanuts  is  used  for  food 
purposes,  being  sold  to  confectioners  for  use  in  making  candies, 
and  to  jobbers,  who  dispose  of  them  through  retailers  to  street 
vendors.     A  large  quantity  is  taken  by  sanitariums,  and  the  rest 

PROPERTY  LIBRARY 


8  Introduction. 

are  used  for  domestic  purposes  and  consumption  by  stock  and 
poultry. 

Importations,  which  were  formerly  of  considerable  importance, 
have  fallen  off  until  now  they  amount  to  very  little. 

The  peanut  is  cultivated  abroad  in  all  tropical  and  sub-tropi- 
cal countries,  in  some  growing  almost  wild,  in  others  receiving 
a  rude  system  of  culture,  while  in  others  the  cultivation  has 
been  reduced  to  an  intensive  system  which  brings  liberal  yields. 
T':^  largest  trade  in  these  nuts  is  done  at  Marseille,  France, 
where,  during  1904,  the  imports  consisted  of  202,000,000  pounds 
of  shelled  nuts,  and  160,000,000  pounds  of  unshelled  nuts  from 
Africa,  India  and  other  countries.  Here  they  are  manufac- 
tured into  oil,  very  few  of  these  nuts  being  used  for  edible  pur- 
poses as  compared  with  the  consumption  in  this  country. 

The  American  peanut,  while  superior  for  edible  purposes, 
lacks  the  oil-producing  qualities  of  the  African  nuts.  The 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  is  now  experimenting 
with  varieties,  for  the  purpose  of  combining  the  excellent  flavor 
of  the  native  nut  and  the  oil-producing  qualities  of  the  African 
nut. 

Should  these  experiments  prove  successful,  or  should  a  tj-pe  be- 
come popular  among  the  farmers  in  this  country  containing  the 
oil-producing  capacity  of  the  African  grown  nuts,  there  will 
be  made  possible  in  America  the  creation  and  organization  of 
a  new  oil-crushing  industry  only  less  important  than  the  cotton- 
oil  industry  of  today. 


MAGNITUDE  OF  THE  PEANUT  CROP. 


'J"he  magnitude  of  the  peanut  crop  of  the  United  States  is 
much  underrated  by  the  general  public.  Until  recently,  there 
were  practically  no  statistics  of  the  peanut  crop ;  and  even  yet 
the  National  Department  of  Agriculture  has  not  seen  fit  to  give 
it  a  place  on  the  blanks  furnished  to  the  crop  reporters  in  the 
Southern  States. 

By  the  census  returns  of  1900,  peanuts  were  reported  as 
lieing  grown  in  all  of  the  Southern  States,  in  California,  Okla- 
\unnii  and  ^Missouri,  and  the  annual  product  was  estimated  at 
something  more  than  twelve  million  bushel:^  But  peanuts  are 
being  grown  now  in  several  of  the  border  States,  from  iNIary- 
Innd  to  Illinois,  also  in  Oregon,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware; 
and  the  area  cf  the  crop  is  gradually  extending  into  new  terri- 
tory throughout  the  South.  It  has  crossed  the  Rio  Grande 
into  JMexico,  is  working  its  way  into  Arizona  and  the  arid  West, 
and  is  cultivated  in  gardens,  as  an  interesting  curiosity,  as  far 
iu)rth  as  Canada. 

Phicing  the  annual  crop  now  at  fourteen  million  bushels  for 
the  whole  country,  and  using  the  United  States  statistics  for 
our  guide,  we  put  the  two  States  of  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina at  the  head  of  the  list,  each  producing  about  four  million 
buslH?ls.  and  both  together  rather  more  than  half  of  the  annual 
output  of  tlie  country.  Georgia  grows  now  some  two  million 
bushels,  Alabama  one  and  a  half  million,  Florida  one  m.illion, 
South  Carolina  and  Texas  each  five  hundred  thousand,  the 
other  States  making  up  the  remaining  five  hundred  thousand. 

Estimating  the  average  yield  per  acre  at  forty  bushels  (it 
often  reaches  one  hundred  in  Virginia),  we  find  about  one  hun- 
dred thousand  acres  devoted  to  this  crop  in  each  of  the  States 
of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  fifty  thousand  acres  in  Georgia, 
thirty-seven  thousand  in  Alabama,  twenty-five  thousand  in 
Florida,  and  twenty-five  thousand  in  the  two  States  of  Texas 
and  South  Carolina,  with  some  twelve  thousand  acres  distributed 
through  the  other  peanut-growing  States.  Thus  we  find  some 
three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land  devoted  to  pea- 
nut culture  in  the  country  at  large.  "We  regard  this  as  a  very 
moderate  estimate  of  the  peanut  area  of  the  Union.  It  is  more 
rather  than  less. 


10 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTUR] 


There  are  twenty-five  counties  in  Virginia,  and  as  many  in 
North  Carolina,  that  grow  peanuts  as  a  staple  crop.  The 
average  peanut  area  per  county  is  about  four  thousand  acres, 
ranging  from  two  thousand  in  the  smallest  counties  to  five  or  six 
thousand  in  the  largest.  In  Virginia,  the  banner  county,  as  to 
both  area,  and  output,  is,  beyond  doubt,  Southampton,  with  Isle 
of  Wight  her  close  competitor. 

Estimating  the  average  crop  per  hand  to  be  four  acres,  there 
are  at  least  one  thousand  persons  in  each  coimty  who  are  engaged 
directly  in  peanut  culture.     This  calculation  makes  the  number 
of  men  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  this  crop  in  the  two  States 
of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  alone,  to  be  about  fifty  thousand. 
Counting  women  and  children,  however,  who  take  part  in  the 
work  at  some  stage  of  the  crop,  there  are  at  least  as  many  more. 
And  reckoning  proportionately  for  all  the  peanut  States,   we 
have  a  grand  total  for  the  whole  country  of  about  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  thousand  persons  employed  in  producing 
and  harvesting  the  fourteen  million  bushels  of  pindars  grown 
annuallv  in  the  United  States.     This  is  an  average  of  eighty 
bushels  per  capita  of  all  those  employed  in  this  crop,  or  one 
hundred  and  sixty  bushels  per  capita  for  the  men  and  boys  who 
till  the  fields,  preparatory  to  the  harvest.     If  each  one  of  the 
three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land,  supposed  to  be 
devoted  to   peanut   culture    annually,   receives   one   sack    (200 
pounds)   of  some  brand  of  commercial  fertilizer,  the  total  con- 
sumption of  fertilizers  every  year  upon  this  crop  alone  is  not 
far  from  thirty-five  thousand  tons.    This  amount,  at  only  twenty 
dollars  per  ton,  which  is  less  than  the  average  cost,  makes  the 
fertilizer  bill  of  the  peanut-growers  of  the  United  States  no  less 
than  seven   hundred  thousand    ($700,000)     dollars.      Allowing 
for  the  purchase  of  plaster  in  many  districts,  and  for  those 
farmers  who  use  one  and  a  half  to  two  sacks  of  fertilizer  per 
acre,  it  is  seen  that  peanut-growers  invest  nearly  or  quite  one 
million   ($1,000,000)    dollars  per  annum  on  this  pet  crop.     At 
four  cents  per  pound  the  twelve  million  bushels  put  upon  the 
market,  reserving  two  million  bushels  for  seed,  the  total  value  of 
the  crop  is  about  ten  million  five  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
($10,560,000)   dollars. 

Such,  approximately,  is  the  size  and  value  of  the  peanut  crop 
of  the  Southern  States..  Even  these  figures  do  not  give  the  whole 
of  the  interesting  story. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  11 

ORIGIN  AND  BOTANY  OF  THE  PEANUT. 


PKOF.  II.  HAKOLD  HUME,  Rnlelgli,  IV.  C. 


For  many  years  the  original  home  of  the  peanut  {A  rack  is 
hypoga'a)  was  in  dispute,  but  this  dispute  has  been  set  at  rest 
by  the  investigations  of  Alphonse  De  CandoUe. 

It  has  been  said  that  it  had  its  origin  in  Africa,  or  in  Asia ; 
but  the  weight  of  evidence  points  to  Brazil  as  the  home  of  this 
unique  plant,  though  its  existence  in  a  wild  state  is  unknown. 

The  evidence  upon  which  this  conclusion  is  based  is  sufficiently 
convincing  to  allow  little  reason  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of 
De  Candolle's  conclusion.  The  genus  Aracliis  contains  a  half 
dozen  or  more  other  species,  all  of  which  are  known  to  be  natives 
of  Brazil.  It  would  be  an  unusual  exception  to  find  one  single 
isolated  plant  the  native  of  one  hemisphere,  while  all  of  its 
near  relatives  were  found  in  another.  Marcgraf  and  Piso 
described  the  peanut  from  Bnizil  as  early  as  1648.  There  were 
ancient  American  names— maud uhi,  anchic  and  mani—tor  the 
plant.  On  the  other  hand,  the  peanut  was  unknown  to  the  early 
Greek,  Latin  and  Arab  writers.  The  agriculture  of  Egypt  is 
very  ancient;  yet,  according  to  the  early  botanists,  it  was  not 
in  cultivation  in  that  country.  In  India  it  has  no  name  in  the 
ancient  Sanskrit.  In  the  older  books  on  the  plants  of  the  Orient, 
the  peanut  is  always  referred  to  as  a  cultivated  plant,  and  in 
the  more  ancient  ones  it  is  not  mentioned. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  Icnow  that  it  was  cultivated 
extensively  in  Guinea  and  other  parts  of  Africa  at  an  early 
date.  Sloane,  in  his  work  on  Jamaica,  says  that  it  was  used  by 
slave-dealers  to  feed  the  negroes  on  the  passage  from  Africa.  . 
This  may  be  explained,  however,  by  the  supposition  that  the 
first  slave-ships  carried  the  peanut  from  Brazil  to  Africa,  toward 
the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  where  it  soon  became  gen- 
erally cultivated,  and  it  was  then  used  in  the  way  stated  by 
Sloane,  and  eventually  was  brought  to  the  British  Colonies  in 
America  by  the  slave-ships,  and  was  subsequently  planted  and 
cultivated  in  the  Southern  Colonies  of  Virginia  and  Carolina, 
from  which  its  culture  has  spread  generally  throughout  all  the 
Southern  States.  Its  presence  in  the  Orient  may  be  explained 
on  the  basis  of  a  Portuguese  introduction  toward  the  close  of 
the  sixteenth  century. 

The  peanut   belongs  to   Family  Leguminosre   and  the   genus 


12  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

Arachis,  the  name  Arachis  hypogaa  having  been  applied  to  it 
by  Linnteus  in  1752.  Though  allied  to  the  clovers,  peas,  beans, 
"^•etches  and  other  well-known  plants  of  the  same  family,  it  pre- 
sents some  striking  differences.  The  pods  of  most  of  our  com- 
mon legumes  break  open  at  maturity,  but  the  peanut  pod  does 
not.  The  flowers  are  produced  above  ground  and  the  downward 
curve  of  the  flower-stem  drives  the  pods  into  the  earth  to  ripen. 
Arachis  hypogaa  Linna?us— peanut,  pindar,  goober — an  herb 
with  numerous  stems,  8-12  inches  or  more  in  length,  procumbent ; 
leaves  abruptly  pinnate,  leaflets  in  two  pairs,  tendrils  lacking; 
flowers  yellow  in  axillary  clusters;  calyx  a  narrow  tube,  two- 
lipped;  stamens  in  a  single  group  (monadelphous)  ;  when  the- 
floral  parts  fall  oft'  the  growing  pod  is  shoved  out  on  a  reflexed 
stem  and  is  pushed  into  the  soil,  where  it  ripens;  legume  ovate- 
oblong,  torulose,  coriaceous,  reticulated,  indehiscent,  1-3-  seeded ; 
cotyledons  oily,  thick,  fleshy;   radical  thick,  short." 


PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  PEANUT  PLANT. 


There  are  some  peculiarities  of  the  peanut  that  might  well  be 
noticed.  "While  the  pindar  is  a  leguminous  plant,  it  is  an 
underground  legume— one  that  grows  and  matures  its  seed- 
pods  beneath  the  soil.  Hence  the  specific  name  by  which  it  is 
known  and  described— /n/po^/fta. 

The  small,  yellow,  butterfly-shaped  flowers  appear  on  stems 
that  spring  out  from  the  axils  of  the  branches  above  ground, 
which  stems  (peduncles)  increase  in  length  till  they  reach  and 
penetrate  the  soil  about  the  plants.  As  the  flower  fades  and 
falls  off,  the  germ  of  the  future  pod  begins  to  form  at  the  end 
of  the  stem,  and  once  the  peduncle  has  found  its  way  into  mel- 
low soil,  the  pod  begins  to  grow  rapidly.  If  the  stem  fails  to 
reach  the  ground,  no  pod  is  formed. 

Another  interesting  peculiarity  of  the  peanut  is  its  habit  of 
closing  each  pair  of  leaflets  together,  like  the  covers  of  a  book, 
on  the  approach  of  night,  or  when  a  shower  begins  to  fall  upon 
them.  The  leaflets  are  in  pairs,  and  as  darkness  and  dewy  eve 
come  on,  each  pair  begins  gradually  to  approach  nearer  and 
nearer  together,  until  they  meet  and  stand  erect,  edge  up,  and 
remain  so  through  the  night. 

The  formation  of  numerous  small  nodules  upon  the  roots  of 
this  plant,  as  it  approaches  maturity-,  is  a  third  peculiarity  that 
attaches  to  it,  in  common  with  some  other  plants  of  the  same 


THE    PEANUT 


AND 


ITS  CULTURE 


Edited  by 

W^ILLIAM    N.    ROPER, 

Editor  of  the  AjrERiCAX  Nrx  Joukxai.,  Petersburg,  Va. 


^-^^hfc-si!.- 


PUBLISHED    JiY 

AMERICAN    NUT    JOURNAL, 
Petersburg,  Va. 


Copyright   by 

WILLIAM  N.  ROPER. 

1905. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE,  13 

order.  These  nodules  are  always  present ;  but  they  are  more 
numerous  and  better  developed  whenever  the  plant  is  grown 
on  a  light,  porous,  sandy  loam,  such  as  suits  the  peanut  best. 
The  presence  of  these  nodules  indicates  thriftiness  and  vitality 
in  the  crop,  and  when  they  are  few  in  nmnber,  and  small,  the 
soil  either  is  not  suited  to  the  peanut,  or  it  needs  amendment 
and  fertilization.  These  protuberances  have  been  called  bac- 
teria nodules,  their  office  being  to  assimilate  and  appropriate  ^ 
the  nitrogen  gathered  by  the. plant  from  the  atmosphere.  When-  ^ 
ever  these  nodules  ai-e  abundant,  and  they  nearly  always  are  in 
a  loam}',  calcareous  soil,  the  crop  will  be  a  large  one. 

Perhaps  it  is  proper  to  mention  the  marked  cinnamon-yellow 
color  of  the  roots  as  a  peculiarity  of  the  peanut.  It  is  a  very 
noticeable  feature,  and  perhaps  there  may  be  some,  as  yet  undis- 
covered, medicinal  virtue  attached  to  these  roots.  This  seems 
to  be  indicated  b}'  their  bitterish  taste,  when  chewed. 

There  is  one  more  fact  concerning  the  peanut  which  may  be 
regarded  as  peculiar  to  it.  It  has  no  insect  enemies,  so  to  speak. 
That  is,  the  plant  is  very  rarely  attacked  or  fed  upon  by  any 
insect — certainly  never  to  the  detriment  of  the  crop.  Of  what 
other  farm  product  can  this  be  truthfully  said? 

Peculiar  in  its  habits  and  mode  of  growth,  the  peanut  has 
much  to  interest  the  botanist,  as  well  as  much  to  recommend  it 
as  a  profitable  agricultural  staple. 


THE  PEANUT  A  FRUIT,  NOT  A  VEGETABLE. 


That"" part  of  the  peanut  which  develops  under  the  ground 
is  a  fruit :  that  is,  the  part  we  eat  or  the  nut  part  is,  strictly 
speaking,  a  fruit.  Botanically  speaking,  the  fruit  is  the  matured 
ovary,  and  all  it  contains  or  is  connected  with.  A  vegetable, 
on  the  ether  hand  is,  in  its  widest  sense,  a  term  which  includes 
all  the  productions  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  all  of  which  are 
treated  of  in  the  science  of  Botany,  from  the  largest  trees  to 
the  common  messes.  Vegetables,  as  the  term  is  commonly  used, 
are  such  plants  as  are  cultivated  for  the  table.  Cabbages,, 
parsnips  and  the  like  are  vegetables ;  but  they  are  not  fruit, 
since  they  do  not  contain,  in  the  part  that  goes  on  the  table, 
the  ripened  ovary  and  what  it  contains.  The  peanut,  or  the 
edible  part  of  the  peanut,  is  the  ripened  ovary  and  its  contents; 
hence  it  i:?  correct  to  say  the  peanut  is  a  fruit  and  not  a  vege- 
table. It  wV  lid  be  desirable  to  classify  peanuts  in  the  same  class 
with  English    valnuts.  pecans  and  other  like  nuts. 


14  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

VARIETIES  OF  THE  PEANUT  AND  THEIR  SPECIAL  USES. 


The  peanut-grower,  whether  a  beginner  or  an  old  cultivator, 
should  determine,  first  of  all,  what  is  his  chief  object  in  raising 
this  crop.  Decision  on  this  point  will  indicate  not  only  the 
variety  he  should  grow,  but  also,  to  a  great  extent,  the  fertilizers 
to  be  used,  the  modes  of  culture  and  the  method  of  harvesting. 
If  he  designs  to  become  a  general-  cultivator  of  peanuts,  and 
grow  some  of  several  varieties,  still  it  is  important  to  know 
the  special  place  and  uses  of  each,  as  there  are  several  varieties 
of  the  peanut,  each  kind  more  particularly  adapted  to  a  special 
purpose. 

If  the  purpose  is  to  grow  peanuts  for  market  chiefly  without 
much  regard  to  other  uses  of  the  crop,  the  grower  should  select 
either  the  Bunch  peanut  alone,  or,  in  addition  to  this  variety, 
should  procure  some  of  the  largest-podded  strain  of  the  Flat 
or  Running  peanut,  and  grow  these  in  connection  with  the  other 
kind.  The  Bunch  peanut  has  large,  fine  pods,  and  is  popular 
with  buyers,  always  commanding  a  good  price  everywhere.  It  is 
prolific,  and  the  nuts  grow  all  in  a  cluster,  hence  are  picked  by 
hand  with  greater  facility  than  the  other  varieties.  It  produces 
about  as  many  pounds  per  acre  as  the  Flat  nut,  may  be  planted 
nearer,  together  both  M'ays,  and  is  cultivated  with  more  ease  than 
the  other  sort.  The  plant  grows  erect  from  a  central  root  like 
a  hill  of  beans,  and  produces  its  pods  all  in  a  bunch  about  the 
crown  of  the  root.  The  harvesting  of  this  variety  may  begin  a 
week  or  two  earlier  than  is  usual  with  the  Flat  sort.  By  care  in 
choosing  only  the  best  seed,  and  growing  the  crop  in  rotation  or 
on  new  land,  which  tends  to  make  very  large  and  showy  pods, 
the  Bunch  peanut  must  soon  rank  everywhere  as  a"  most  desirable 
and  profitable  sort. 

But  if  farmers  prefer  a  good,  general  purpose  peanut — one 
that  is  not  only  profitable  for  market,  but  one  of  the  best  for 
fattening  pork  and  other  meats  and  for  improving  the  farm- 
let  them  take  the  large-podded  Flat  or  Running  peanut.  This 
is  the  staple  and  standard  variety  in  Virginia  and  most  other 
States,  at  least  seven-tenths  of  the  entire  annual  output  being 
of  this  kind.  There  are  several  varieties  of  the  Flat  nut,  some 
of  them  having  very  small  pods,  which  are  not  popular  with 
buyers  nor  profitable  for  the  growers. 

The  plant  spreads  out  close  upon  the  surface  o'  the  ground. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


15 


the  branches  of  the  vine  radiating  from  a  central  taproot.  On 
very  rich  soil  a  single  vine  of  this  sort  will  often  attain  to  a 
diameter,  from  tip  to  tip  of  branch,  of  five  or  six  feet,  but  this 
great  spread  of  vine  is  objectionable,  a  size  not  to  exceed 
eighteen  to  thirty  inches  being  preferable.  This  sort  produces 
its  seed  from  stems  that  grow  out  at  the  axils  of  the  many- 
branched  vine :  hence  the  pods  are  distributed  over  the  entire 
plant  from  the  taproot  outward  nearly  to  the  ends  of  the 
branches.  The  Flat  peanut  is  prolific,  with  good-sized  pods, 
unless  grown  from  degenerated  seed  on  very  poor  land,  and  it 
is  admirably  suited  for  commercial  purposes.     If  proper  care 


FLAT  OR  rirXKING  VIIIGIXIA  PEANl'T.s.     (Exact  Size.) 
'     Type  of  stuck  grown  b,\-  E.  'I",  sii ackelfohk,  on  his  farm  in  Clies- 
terlielcl  coimtj-,   near  PetLrshurir,  Va. 

were  always  taken  to  choose  the  largest  and  best  pods  for  seed, 
such  as  are  produced  on  medium  stiff  soil  or  new  ground  freshly 
brought  into  cultivation,  the  Flat  peanut  would  unmistakably 
be  the  best  sort  for  general  cultivation.  The  vine  of  this  variety 
makes  more  and  better  forage  than  any  other;  it  yields  more  in 
pounds  per  acre,  and  can  be  harvested  with  rather  more  facility 
than  the  Bnneh  kind.  Care  in  selecting  good  seed  and  rotating 
the  crop  will  keep  this  a  leading  commercial  variety. 

The  farmer  who  desires  a  small  nut  for  all  domestic  fowls. 


16.  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

the  smallest  peanut  of  all,  something  that  is  petit  and  pretty, 
mild  and  savory  for  the  confectioners'  elite  consumers,  will  find 
the  Spanish  nut  just  the  beau  ideal  for  his  purpose.  For  eating, 
raw  or  cooked,  it  is  the  best  nut  of  all.  It  is  employed  largely 
in  the  manufacture  of  candies,  and  it  holds  a  place  all  alone  in 
commercial  circles  that  no  other  peanut  can  so  well  fill.  Its 
cultivation  for  sale  is  profitable,  especially  as  it  will  yield  more 
on  poor  land  or  without  fertilizers  than  any  other  sort,  and  there 
will  always  be  a  good  demand  for  it.  The  Spanish  nut  is  grovm 
almost  exclusively  in  some  districts,  and  the  modes  of  cultiva- 
tion and  harvesting  are  coming  to  be  a  distinct  and  separate 
branch  of  peanut  culture. 

The  vines  grow  erect,  like  the  Bunch  sort,  but  they  are  small 
and  slender,  and  the  color  of  the  foliage  a  lighter  green  than 
that  of  the  other  kinds.  The  pods  are  the  smallest  of  any  pea- 
nuts yet  brought  into  cultivation  in  this  country.  They  grow 
in  a  closely-matted  cluster  about  the  main  stem.  The  Spanish 
peanut  may  be  planted  later  and  harvested  earlier  than  any 
other  kind.  It  never  "pops"  and  seldom  "blasts,"  and  will 
)^grow  on  poorer  soils  than  other  sorts. 

On  account  of  the  small  size  of  the  pods  and  the  ease  and 
cheapness  with  which  this  crop  may  be  grown,  this  peanut  is 
particularly  suited  to  the  poulterer.  Given  access  to  a  field  of 
Spanish  peanuts  in  September  or  October,  the  poultry  will 
save  the  farmer  all  the  labor  and  expense  of  picking  and 
gathering  the  crop,  and  it  will  often  pay  better  this  way  than 
to  harvest  and  sell  it.  Every  farmer  who  raises  a  flock  of 
geese  or  turkeys  or  other  fowls  for  market  should  grow  a  patch 
of  Spanish  peanuts  and  give  them  up  at  maturity  exclusively  to 
the  fowls.  No  other  fattener  would  be  required.  It  is  cheaper 
than  corn,-  and  the  land  in  this  way,  by  having  the  vines,  hulls 
and  leaves  to  remain  and  rot  upon  it,  is  greatly  benefited  and 
enriched,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  few  things  are  more 
conducive  to  soil  fertility  than  decayed  peanut  vines. 

The  Jumbo  Running  variety  is  one  that  will  doubtless  become 
a  favorite  where  extra-large  nuts  are  desired.  This  variety  is 
twice  the  size  of  the  regular  A^irginia  Running  or  Flat  variety, 
and  can  be  made  to  yield  500  pounds  more  to  the  acre.  The  nuts 
grow  from  150  to  175  in  a  hill,  which  is  equivalent  to  four 
quarts. 

There  is  the  Smooth-podded  Flat  nut,  with  a  pod  about  half 
the  size  of  the  parent  variety.     Then  there  are  two  varieties 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  71 

in  Tennessee  known  as  the  White  and  the  Eed.  The  Wliite 
closely  resembles  the  Virginia  Ennning  variety,  and  the  Red, 
with  somewhat  similar  pods,  produces  kernels  of  a  dark-red 
skin.  The  North  Carolina  or  African  variety,  which  is  grown 
in  the  eastern  part  of  North  Carolina,  has  pods  similar  to  the 
Virginia  variety,  but  the  kernels  contain  more  oil  than  the  other 
varieties.  The  Georgia  Eed  nut,  as  it  is  sometimes  known,  is 
similar  to  the  Red  nut  of  Tennessee,  has  medium-sized  vines 
growing  up  from  the  ground  and  fruiting  near  the  taproot. 

Other  types  will  come  with  wider  and  more  general  cultiva- 
tion and  by  painstaking  industry  in  developing  new  sorts  for 
special  uses.  The  capabilities  of  the  peanut  plant  are  great, 
and  as  the  cultivation  extends  and  its  uses  multiply,  special 
sorts  will  in  time  be  brought  out.  A  nut  the  richest  in  oil  or 
the  one  of  best  edible  qualities,  or  the  best  stock  and  poultry 
nut,  or. the  nut  of  the  shortest  period  of  growth,  would  become 
popular,  fill  a  place  in  peanut  farming,  and  bring  its  introducer 
competency  and  fame. 


DOMESTIC  USES  OF  THE  PEANUT. 


Persons  going  into  peanut  culture  for  the  most  profit  should 
count  a  good  deal  on  the  home  uses  of  the  crop.  Apart  from 
the  high  commercial  value  of  the  nuts,  there  are  domestic  uses 
of  the  crop  that  give  it  great  value,  merely  as  a  product  for 
consumption  at  home.  Every  part  of  the  plant  is  useful  in  one 
way  or  another,  either  for  feeding  and  fattening  the  domestic 
stock,  or  for  adding  fertility  to  the  farm. 

The  opinion  has  been  entertained  in  some  quarters  that  the 
peanut  is  an  exhausting  crop.  This  is  an  error.  It  is  only  so 
when  the  method  of  farming  is  such  as  takes  the  entire  crop, 
plant  and  fruit,  off  the  land,  without  putting  anything  back,  to 
replace  the  humus,  nitrogen,  &c.,  that  has  been  abstracted.  The 
crop  does  not  draw  heavily  upon  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  The 
plant  is  a  nitrogen  collector,  and  having  a  strong  taproot  that 
penetrates  deeply  into  the  subsoil,  it  collects  much  of  its  mineral 
food  from  the  layer  of  earth  beneath  the  surface  soil.  It  does 
not  get  the  bulk  of  its  food  material  from  the  surface  through 
a  great  mass  of  fibrous  roots,  like  corn.  It  draws  its  stores 
from  below,  and  gathers  from  the  air  much  of  its  fertility. 

Like    clover,    and    other   leguminous    plants    having   bacteria 


18  THE  PEAN  UT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

nodules  upon  the  roots,  the  peanut  plant  is  a  greedy  collector 
of  nitrogen,  carbonic  acid,  &c.,  from  the  atmosphere,  either 
above  or  within  the  soil,  and  hence  may  be  utilized,  like  clover, 
in  restoring  fertility  to  the  soil.  The  root  of  this  plant,  in  shape 
and  mode  of  growth,  resembles  the  branching  of  an  oak  tree, 
with  a  main  root  or  stem  that  penetrates  deeply.  Hence  the 
plant  is  a  good  drought  resister.  It  does  not  send  out  lateral 
roots  far  into  the  surface  soil,  like  Indian  com,  hence  fertilizers 
are  best  placed  under  the  plant  in  the  row,  rather  than  broad- 
cast. The  roots  have  a  yellow  color,  and  perhaps  might  be  em- 
ployed in  dyeing. 

Pound  for  pound,  rotted  peanut  vines  are  fully  equal  in 
value  as  a  fertilizer  to  the  best  stable  manure.  Wherever  pea- 
nuts are  picked  off  in  the  field,  and  the  shattered  leaves,  vines 
and  debris  are  left  to  decay,  the  corn  or  other  crop  gro^vn  upon 
the  spot  the  next  year  will  invariably  show  great  improvement. 
Hence  peanut  growers  like  to  have  as  much  of  the  crop  as  pos- 
sible picked  in  the  field. 

This,  then,  is  one  of  the  domestic  uses  of  the  peanut  crop, 
and  a  very  important  one,  if  properly  utilized.  As  a  feed 
and  fattener  of  stock  and  poultry,  peanuts  are  worth  more, 
acre  for  acre,  than  field  peas  or  corn.  They  not  only  yield 
more  food  and  more  fattening  material  to  the  animals,  but  the 
benefit  to  the  soil  arising  from  the  decay  of  the  vines  and  roots 
is  greater.  In  this  particular  they  equal,  if  they  do  not  sur- 
pass, clover  itself.  Wherever  turkeys,  ducks,  geese  or  hens  are 
raised  and  fattened  for  the  market— or  wherever  pork,  lard, 
bacon  and  ham  are  prominent  staples  in  the  farm  routine, 
peanuts  should  be  grown  for  consumption  upon  the  land.  There 
is  no  better  fattener.  In  this  way  all  the  labor  and  cost  of  har- 
vesting and  selling  the  crop  is  obviated,  and  the  farmer  gets 
more  per  pound  for  the  nuts  thus  converted  into  meat,  than  he 
could  get  for  the  nuts  after  the  most  careful  harvesting.  And 
the  benefit  to  the  soil  is  immense  and  incalculable.  There  is 
no  easier  or  cheaper  way  to  bring  up  land  to  a  high  state  of 
fertility. 

But  peanut  hay,  where  the  crop  is  properly  harvested  and 
the  nuts  sold,  is  acknowledged  to  be  a  valuable  feed  for  horses, 
cattle  and  sheep.  When  nicely  cured  and  housed,  it  is  a 
nutritious  and  generally  safe  feed  for  all  animals.  Nearly  all 
stock  is  fond  of  it.  It  is  not  only  rich  in  nutritious  elements 
for  stock,  but  is  excellent  as  a  milk-producer  when  fed  liberally 


THE  PEANUT  AND  JTS  CULTURE.  19 

to  cows  at  the  pail.  The  yield  of  hay  per  acre  is  about  equal 
to  that  of  other  hay  and  fodder  crops.  If  the  plant  is  dug 
before  frost  nips  it,  and  before  th"e  leaves  have  fallen  much,  it 
makes  a  sweet,  nutritious  provender.  In  this  Avay,  the  peanut 
crop  now  supplies  a  large  percentage  of  the  forage  consumed 
upon  the  farms  throughout  the  peanut  belts.  Hence  the  ten- 
dency now  is  to  dig  the  crop  early,  in  order  to  save  as  much  as 
possible  of  the  vines  from  frost,  which  renders  them  unfit  for 
feed. 

The  waste3iits  left^upon  the  field,  and  in  the  soil,  is  another 
of  the  by-products  that  becomes  an  important  factor  of  the 
domestic  uses  of  the  crop.  These  go  a  long  way  and  save  a 
good  many  barrels  of  corn  in  fattening  the  pork  supply  of  the 
peanut  sections.     Farmers  count  much  upon  this  item. 

But  there  are  other  domestic  uses  of  the  festive  peanut,  that 
should  not  be  overlooked — the  "peanut  roasts,"  the  peanut 
candy,  chocolate  pie  and  pone,  all  home-made,  the  social  gather- 
ings wherein  peanuts  in  some  delectable  form  are  prominent 
in  the  round  of  festivity  and  fun.  All  things  considered,  we 
doubt  if  the  home  uses  of  this  incomparable  and  unique  staple 
do  not  surpass  in  value  and  weight  even  its  commercial  status. 
It  is,  in  fact,  an  all-round  crop,  that  is  rapidly  becoming  cosmo- 
politan. And  its  value  as  a  home  product,  for  domestic  con- 
sumption and  use  upon  the  farms  where  grown,  is  likely  to  ex- 
ceed and  eclipse  its  other  and  former  sphere  as  a  money  crop. 


BREEDING  SEED  PEANUTS. 

PROF.    AV.    F.    MASSEV,    Rnlelgli,    N.    C. 


The  peanut  is  no  exception  to  the  rule  that  "whatever  a  man 
sows,  that  will  he  reap."  .If  one  plants  the  product  of  enfeebled 
plants— small,  stunted  seed  of  low  vitality— he  will  certainly 
get  an  inferior  product.  Many  imagine  that  the  improvement 
in  plants  is  generally  brought  about  by  some  mysterious  hybridi- 
zation or  crossing,  when,  in  fact,  with  plants  that  are  grown 
from  seed,  any  crossing  of  varieties  gives  only  the  starting 
points  for  improvement.  The  real  secret  in  the  improvement  of 
any  plant  lies  in  the  careful  and  continued  selection  from  year 
to  year  of  the  plants  that  come  nearest  to  one's  ideal  of  what 
the  perfect  plant  of  the  kind  should  be. 

The  proper  care  in  selecting  the  seed  will  be  certain  to  im- 


20 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


prove  the  character  and  productiveness  of  any  crop,  and  the 
peanut  crop  is  no  exception.  In  taking  up  the  crop,  go  through 
the  field  and  observe  the  habit  of  the  individual  plants.  Select 
seed  only  from  plants  of  abundant  vitality  and  vigorous  growth. 
In  taking  them  up,  note  the  product  of  each  plant  and  shock 
the  productive  plants  by  themselves  to  be  saved  for  seed.  Now, 
from  these  selected  seed,  the  next  season  plant  your  crop  and 
also  plant  a  special  seed  patch,  giving  it  the  best  possible  atten- 
tion  and   fertilization.      Then,    from    this   patch,    continue  the 


M^^- 

^ 

M' 

M 

^pl; 

apl^  '. 

■% 

% 

X 

IMPUOVEU  nUNNING  .JUMBo  PEAXUTS.     (Exact  Size.) 
From  stock  of  .J.  E.  Wiggixs.    The  largest  Is  2^4  inches  long  and 
3  inches  in  circumference.    The  vines  grow  from  125  to  175  nuts- 
equal  to  about  four  quarts. 


selection  of  the  best  plants  that  bear  the  heaviest  crop  of  nuts 
and  have  the  best  habit  of  growth.  Continue  this  from  year  to 
year,  and  you  will  find  that  in  a  few  years  you  will  have  bred 
the  variety,  no  matter  what  the  variety  is,  to  a  far  greater  pro- 
duction. Planting  only  the  best  developed  nuts  from  the  most 
productive  liills,  you  will  increase  the  crop  in  a  few  years,  as 
much  as  by  tlie  permanent  improvement  of  the  soil  itself.     Get 


.        THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  21 

well  fixed  in  jiiind  what  you  would  consider  the  perfect  plant 
of  the  variety  you  grow,  and  always  select  towards  that  ideal 
type.  You  may  not  get  the  perfect  plant  you  imagine,  but  you 
will  certainly  get  a  variety  that  will  attract  the  attention  of 
all  the  growers  around  you,  and  make  your  peanuts  more  valua- 
ble for  seed  than  for  the  general  market,  while  the  price  on  the 
market  will  be  better  for  properly-bred  and  improved  nuts. 
While  the  plant  breeders  have  been  improving  corn,  wheat  and 
other  crops  by  seed  selection,  there  has  been  little  done  in  the 
improvement  of  the  peanut,  and  there  is  a  wide  field  for  its 
improvement. 

One  reason  for  the  planting  of  a  separate  seed  patch  every 
year  is  to  get  the  best  plants  by  themselves  and  removed  from 
any  inferior  surroundings,  for  in  the  seed  patch  one  can  pull 
out  and  remove  inferior  plants  and  not  allow  them  to  influence 
those  around  them  when  their  blossoms  are  maturing  the  pollen. 
In  the  breeding  of  any  plant,  this  removal  of  surrounding 
inferior  types  is  a  matter  of  importance. 

Therefore,  in  a  seed  patch  of  peanuts,  I  would  pull  out  every 
runt  plant  that  showed  itself  and  not  allow  it  to  have  any  in- 
fluence on  the  crop,  and  I  would  rigidly  examine  the  crop  of 
every  plant  at  digging  time  and  select  only  the  very  best  to 
plant  the  seed  patch  the  following  year,  using  the  rest  for  the 
general  crop,  and  thus,  year  by  year  would  be  advancing.  AVith 
well-selected  seed  and  good  farming  with  the  peanut  crop,  there 
is  no  reason  why  100  bushels  per  acre  should  not  be  a  common 
crop. 

I  have  long  had  a  notion  that  the  prevalence  of  "pops"  is 
due  more  to  the  failure  of  the  blossoms  to  get  fertilized  than  to 
the  lack  of  lime.  The  effect  of  lime  is  mainly  through  aiding 
the  activity  of  the  bacteria  that  live  in  the  roots  of  the  plant 
and  enable  it  to  get  the  nitrogen  from  the  air,  and  thus  in- 
creasing the  general  vigor  of  the  plant  and  the  perfection  of  the 
flowers.  It  is  well  known  that  these  bacteria  will  not  thrive  in 
an  acid  soil,  and  most  of  the  lands  that  are  devoted  to  peanuts 
have  gotten  into  an  acid  condition. 

Many  of  our  peanut  growers  have  a  prejudice  against  the 
cow  pea  as  an  improving  and  forage  crop,  and  claim  that  good 
peanuts  cannot  be  grown  after  cow  peas.  Both  these  being 
legume  crops,  I  would  not  follow  a  pea  crop  at  once  by  peanuts, 
but  I  would  certainly  have  peas  in  the  rotation  of  crops  for 
the  improvement  of  the  land,  and  through  the  vegetable  matter 


22  ,    THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

they  leave  in  the  soil  to  render  the  liming  of  the  peas  more 
effective.  Farming,  in  a  good  rotation  of  crops  with  peanuts 
as  the  money  crop,  can  be  done  as  well  as  with  any  other  crop, 
and  the  Southern  pea  will  make  the  best  of  all  agents  in  the 
improvement  of  the  soil. 


DEALERS'  COMMENT  ON  SEED  SELECTION. 


HOLMES  &.  DAWSON,  Norfolk,  Va. 


From  our  observation  and  experience  in  selling  and  handling 
peanuts  as  they  come  from  the  farm,  and  the  knowledge  acquired 
through  extensive  operations  in  this  important  crop,  we  have 
particularly  noted  that  a  large  precentage  of  the  crop  is  of 
medium  and  poor  quality,  thereby  considerably  reducing  its 
value.  This  condition  is  obviously  brought  about  by  inattention 
to  the  careful  selection  of  seed,  indifference  oftentimes  to  the 
care  of  the  plant  in  progress  of  growth,  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  crop  is  cared  for  even  after  it  has  been  harvested. 

To  our  minds,  however,  the  prime  cause  of  deterioration  is 
the  fact  that  so  little  care  is  taken  in  the  selection  of  proper 
seed.  Well-selected,  large-sized  peanuts  only  should  be  used 
for  planting.  There  is  a  wide  difference  in  market  price  be- 
tween large  and  small-sized  peanuts,  such  a  difference  as  would 
more  than  pay  the  farmer  for  any  extra  trouble  or  expense. 
Large-sized  peanuts  are  always  in  demand,  no  matter  what  the 
market  conditions  may  be.  They  meet  with  ready  sale  at  all 
times,  whereas,  the  smaller-sized  nuts  must  wait  for  a  strong 
market  and  then  go  at  lower  prices.  Such  a  patent  fact  alone 
should  induce  the  farmer  to  plant  only  large-sized  seed. 


THE    PEANUT. 

PROF.  CHARLES  \V,  BURKETT,  Ralelgli,  N.  C. 


The  peanut  (Aracliis  hypogcea)  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
feeding  stuffs  grown.  It  is  good  for  man  and  beast  as  a  food, 
and  is  good  for  the  soil  as  an  improver.  For  man  it  furnishes 
protein  and  ash  materials  in  considerable  quantities,  and  for 
farm  animals  it  is  an  extremely  valuable  balancing  food  to  go 
with  corn   and  other   carbonaceous  feeds  during  the   growing 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  23 

season,  and  as  a  soil  improver  it  falls  in  the  same  line  as  all 
k-guminous  crops. 

Were  yoii  to  examine  the  roots  of  the  peanut  plant,  you  would 
11  nd  a  wart-like  or  knotty  growth,  the  size  of  a  pin  head  or  a 
little  larger,  that  plays  such  an  important  part  in  the  life  history 
of  this  plant.  These  wart-like  or  knotty  growths  are  really  the 
homes  of  the  bacteria  that  gather  the  atmospheric  nitrogen  and 
convert  it  into  a  form  available  to  plants.  These  organisms 
that  live  in  the  root  tubercles  gather  the  nitrogen  from  the  air 
and  furnish  it  without  cost  to  the  plant.  In  this  way  the  total 
amount  of  nitrogen  often  acquired  is  far  in  excess  of  analysis 
showing  it  to  be  present  and  available  in  the  soil.  Thus  the 
tubercle-bearing  crops,  like  the  cow  pea,  clover  and  the  peanut, 
are  soil  improvers.  For  this  reason  it  is  a  profitable  crop  to 
the  farmer.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  manner  of  har- 
vesting the  peanut  lessens  the  soil-improving  value.  This  is 
because  the  stored-up  and  newly-gathered  nitrogen  is  in  the 
tubercles  in  the  roots.  When  harvested,  these  tubercles  are 
dug  up  with  the  fruit,  and  unless  returned  to  the  soil  the  ac- 
cumulated nitrogen  is  lost. 

The  peanut  is  profitable  as  a  market  crop  as  well  as  a  feeding 
crop,  because  it  furnishes  a  product  that  is  constantly  in  demand. 

If  the  grower  fertilizes  his  peanut  land  abundantly  with 
phosphorus,  potassium  and  lime— for  let  it  be  known  that  pea- 
nuts relish  lime  in  considerable  quantities — his  land  ought  to 
be  more  fertile  and  productive  with  each  succeeding  year. 
Peanut  lands  suffer,  as  a  rule,  from  the  depletion  of  the  mineral 
elements.  Of  course  a  considerable  quantity  of  these  mineral 
elements  enter  into  the  growth  of  the  kernel. 

Now,  as  the  peanut  uses  a  considerable  quantity  of  mineral 
materials,  it  follows  that  if  good  growth  and  productive  yields 
are  to  be  obtained,  it  is  necessary  to  add  such  elements  in  the 
fertilizers.  Peanut  lands  also  lose  considerable  fertility  and 
value  through  the  constant  washing  during  the  winter  season. 
This  is  not  necessary,  because  some  growing  crops  could  follow 
peanuts  so  as  to  prevent  the  washing  and  the  leaching  of  the 
soil.  Crimson  clover  is  an  excellent  winter  crop.  If  difficulty 
is  encountered  in  securing  stands  of  this  excellent  crop  in  sandy 
lands,  .a  crop  like  rye  is  excellent  for  the  winter  season.  Now, 
since  a  rotation  of  crops  is  as  important  in  peanut  growing  as 
in  any  other  line  of  special  farming,  it  follows  that  it  is  not 
wise,  to  grow  peanuts  on  the  same  land  every  year.    Follow  rye, 


24  thp:  peanut  and  its  culture. 

therefore,  with  some  crop  like  cow  peas  or  some  vegetable  crop 
or  eveu  corn.    Of  these,  cow  peas  are  of  course  the  best. 

Peanuts,  while  grown  most  extensively  through  Virginia, 
North  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  can  be  growTi  in  almost  any 
section  of  the  country.  In  fact,  it  may  be  said  that  peanuts 
will  grow  everywhere  that  Indian  corn  succeeds. 

In  regard  to  feeding  value,  peanut  kernels  have  an  average  of 
29  per  cent,  protein,  49  per  cent,  fat  and  14  per  cent,  carbohy- 
drates in  the  dry  material.  This  composition  re.i^ily  shows  the 
high  feeding  value  of  this  product.  Not  only  is  t.ho  Iccrncl 
part  high  in  feeding  value,  but  the  vines  also  are  shrwu  lo  be 
superior  to  timothy  hay  as  a  feeding  stuff,  and  but  slightly  infe- 
rior to  clover  hay. 

A  loamy  soil  of  a  sandy  nature,  that  is  light  and  porous, 
produces  the  most  remunerative  peanuts.  However,  practically 
any  kind  of  soil  that  is  open  and  friable  and  that  can  be  kept  so, 
provided  there  is  lime  and  mineral  elements,  will  do  for  the  crop. 
The  objection  to  the  clay  soil  is  that  the  pods  are  stained.  So 
far  as  yield  and  weight  are  concerned,  the  clay  soil  has  given 
extremely  good  results.  In  fact  the  peanuts  on  such  soils  are 
heavier  than  on  sandy  soils.  The  clay  soils  being  colder  and 
less  active,  do  not  call  for  as  early  plant ii  g  as  the  sandy  ones. 

It  has  been  suggested,  previously,  tha '  peanut  soils  require 
lime,  and  also  phosphorus  and  potassium  IMarl  is  often  used 
and  so  are  oyster  shells.  However,  comn,.)n  limestone  answers 
every  purpose  for  the  peanut  farm.  As  a  rule  thirty  bushels 
of  lime  make  a  good  application  to  the  acre.  Frequent  and 
small  applications  are  superior  to  infrequent  and  heavy  appli- 
cations of  lime. 

Any  one  can  prepare  land  for  peanuts  without  a  spe- 
cial knowledge  of  the  crop.  Any  preparation  that  will 
get  the  soil  to  a  good  depth  of  plow,  and  then  thoroughly  har- 
rowed and  pulverized  to  the  depth  of  four  or  five  inches,  will 
provide  good  preparation.  A  common  practice  is  to  break  the 
land  with  an  ordinary  turning-plow  as  soon  as  possible  in  the 
spring,  and  then  follow  with  the  harrow  and  the  roller  until 
a  suitable  condition  of  the  land  is  obtained.  About  two  bushels 
of  nuts  in  the  pod  are  sufficient  to  furnish  ceed  for  an  acre.  In 
opening  the  pod  for  planting  purposes,  it  requires  care  and  atten- 
tion, so  as  to  avoid  the  breaking  of  the  skin  of  the  kernel,  and 
also  in  selecting  the  more  perfect  kernels  as  they  are  shelled. 

Three  points  should  be  kept  in  mind  as  to  cultivation  and  til- 


ll?''!'^-'<A.r 


THE  PEANUT  AND  1T8  CULTURE.  25 

lage :  1.  Kill  all  weeds  so  that  the  water  and  plant  food  will 
be  left  for  the  plant.  2.  Practice  careful  tillage  and  cultiva- 
tion so  as  to  prevent  the  evaporation  of  water.  Water  is  needed 
in  the  soil  for  the  growing-  plant,  and  the  mulch  form  will 
ofttimes  save  the  crop.  3.  Tillage  is  manure.  That  is,  it  re- 
leases the  plant  food  and  contributes  to  the  feeding  of  the  plant. 
It  is  not  a  question  of  how  many  times  you  shall  cultivate 
during  the  growing  season,  but  how  effectually  you  do  it.  It 
is  wise  to  follow  with  a  cultivator  after  a  very  heavy  rain,  so 
as  to  blanket  the  w^ater  in  and  keep  it  there  for  the  use  of  the 
plant.  The  common  practice  of  ridged  and  leveled  culture  each 
have  their  friends.  An  experiment  at  the  Nebraska  Experiment 
Station  showed  that  the  rows  that  had  been  cultivated  shallow 
and  level  made  a  yield  of  almost  twice  as  much  as  the  ridged 
rows  made. 

All  in  all,  the  peanut  is  one  of  our  best  and  most  valuable 
crops.  AVhere  study  and  care  and  skill  are  given  to  its  culture, 
it  is  a  remunerative  crop  to  the  farmer. 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  PEANUT. 


II.   VV.  JONES,  Spottsvllle,  Vj 


In  peanut  culture  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  that  good 
seed  be  selected  for  planting.  They  should  be  from  the  finest 
nuts  of  the  previous  crop,  should  have  been  dug  early,  before 
frost,  and  after  being  properly  cured  in  shock,  kept  in  a  dry 
and  airy  room,  away  from  rats  and  mice.  -  Peanuts,  as  a  rule, 
germinate  well,  and  one  need  have  little  apprehension. that  good 
seed,  properly  harvested  and  cared  for,  will  not  grow.  jNIore 
failures  are  owing  to  indifferent  seed,  bad  methods  of  planting 
and  putting  the  seed  in  contact  with  the  fertilizers,  than  from 
any  other  causes. 

The  seed  should  be  at  hand  and  the  shelling  started  early,  as 
it  is  a  slow  process  and  takes  considerable  time.  i\Iany  farmers 
save  their  own  seed  and  test  the  germinating  qualities  by  de- 
positing a  few  handfuls  in  a  hot-bed  or  in  dampened  cotton 
kept  in  a  warm  room.  The  shellers  are  put  to  work  and  cau- 
tioned not  to  split  or  bruise  the  kernels  by  too  hard  pressure 
with  the  "popper,"  if  one  is  used.  If  care  be  taken  in  shelling 
and  all  the  faulty  kernels  rejected,  there  will  be  little  need  in 
afterward  assorting  the  seed.     It  requires  from  five  to  six  gal- 


26 


IHE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  27 

Ions  of  kernels  of  the  Flat  or  Bunch  varieties  to  seed  an  acre, 
at  the  ordinary  distance  between  the  rows,  when  running  the 
planters  now  in  common  use.  The  use  of  tar  on  the  seed,  to 
keep  moles  and  other  destroyers  from  them,  is  not  to  be  com- 
mended, as  it  retards  or  prevents  germination  by  keeping  the 
moisture  from  penetrating  readily  to  the  embryo. 

The  ideal  soil  for  the  peanut  is  a  sandy  loam,  in  good  condi- 
tion, and  it  should  not  be  shaded  by  orchard  or  other  trees. 
The  peanut  loves  the  sunshine,  and  open  fields  are  best.  The 
soil  need  not  be  very  rich.  A  good  corn  or  cotton  soil,  that  will 
produce  five  or  six  barrels  of  corn  per  acre,  is  quite  rich  enough. 
A  limed  soil  is  best,  or  else  lime  or  marl  should  be  applied  to 
the  crop,  either  in  the  drill  or  broadcast.  The  light,  sandy 
lands  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  produce  fine,  bright  nuts.  Old 
broomsedge  fields,  brought  again  into  cultivation,  though  the 
soil  may  be  poor,  have  been  found  to  grow  the  finest  class  of 
commercial  peanuts.  But  medium  and  even  stiff  soils  produce 
heavier  pods  than  sandy  land,  and  if  not  too  tenacious,  such 
ground  is  profitable  for  peanut  culture.  In  fact,  any  soil  that 
is  not  boggy,  and  which  will  grow  corn  well,  will  also  produce 
pindars  profitably.  Freshly  cleared  ground  makes  larger  pods 
than  old  land.  Stiff  clays,  waxy,  black  soils  and  sour  lands  are 
not  suitable. 

Like  other  crops,  it  is  best  to  rotate  and  not  grow  peanuts 
on  the  same  ground  two  or  more  years  in  succession.  Well- 
rotted  organic  matter  in  the  soil  is  very  beneficial,  with  lime 
or  plaster  to  supplement  it,  but  coarse  vegetable  matter,  dry 
and  undecomposed,  is  detrimental  to  both  crop  and  cultivation. 
The  coarse  manures  of  the  farm  ought  to  be  used  on  the  pre- 
vious crop  of  corn  or  cotton. 

The  ground  is  prepared  as  for  corn,  by  breaking,  harrowing 
and,  if  necessary,  rolling.  The  soil  should  be  made  fine.  If 
it  is  lumpy  it  must  be  rolled,  and  the  roller  followed  immediately 
by  the  weeder,  or  some  good  smoothing  harrow.  If  the  field  was 
in  corn  or  cotton  the  previous  year,  the  stall^s  should  be  collected 
and  burned  before  plowing  begins.  The  ground  may  be  broken 
in  IMarch  and  left  until  near  the  time  for  planting  the  nuts, 
in  order  to  give  grass  and  weeds  time  to  come  up.  Then  the 
preparation  of  the  seed-bed  will  destroy  the  first  crop  of  weeds, 
which  ■  saves  a  good  deal  in  subsequent  work.  In  no  case 
undertake  to  prepare  the  land  when  it  is  too  wet.  Better  delay 
planting  a  week,  or  even  a  month,  than  do  this. 


2S  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

In  Virginia,  Carolina  and  similar  latitudes,  the  month  of  May 
is  the  proper  time  to  plant.  We  would  rather  plant  the  latter 
part  of  ;May  than  earlier  in  that  month.  It  saves  something  in 
after-culture  to  hold  off  a  little  late.  Some  seasons,  June  is  a 
better  time  for  planting  than  i\Iay,  and  very  good  crops  have 
often  been  grown  when  the  planting  was  delayed  imtil  even  the 
last  of  June.  It  depends  upon  whether  the  spring  is  clear  and 
dry,  or  cloudy  and  wet. 

The  land  being  freshly  stirred  and  made  fine  and  smooth,  lay 
the  rows  off  either  with  a  marker  or  by  running  a  light  plow  to 
the  stick.  The  rows  are  made  any  distance  apart  desired, 
usually  30  or  33  inches  for  the  Flat  peanuts,  26  or  28  inches 
for  the  Bunch.  If  fertilizer  is  to  be  applied  at  the  time  of 
planting,  the  sower  follows  in  the  rows  behind  the  marker, 
drawn  by  a  single  team,  and  the  machine  is  set  to  distribute  the 
required  quantity  per  acre.  As  most  farmers  apply  plaster, 
some  time  in  the  season,  it  is  as  well  to  do  it  now  by  putting 
it  in  with  the  fertilizer.  Thus  the  latter  is  made  thoroughly 
dry  and  fine,  and  there  will  be  no  trouble  with  the  sowing 
machine. 

As  the  fertilizer  is  distributed,  the  cultivator,  closed  up  nar- 
row, follows  along  the  furrows  for  the  purpose  of  mixing  the 
fertilizer  well  with  the  soil.  Failing  to  do  this  by  the  careless 
handling  of  the  cultivator,  thus  leaving  some  of  the  fertilizer 
to  come  in  direct  contact  with  the  seed  peas,  is  one,  and  per- 
haps the  chief,  cause  of  their  often  failing  to  come  np  well. 
The  peanut  planter  comes  on  now,  opening  a  furrow,  distributing 
the  seed,  covering  them  and  rolling  the  soil  over  them.  It  is 
set  to  drop  the  seed  at  given  distances  apart.  These  planters 
are  great  labor  and  time  savers,  and  indispensable  in  extensive 
peanut  culture. 

In  regard  to  applying  fertilizers,  there  is  this  to  be  said: 
While  it  has  been  the  custom,  almost  invariably,  to  put  them 
on  at  the  time  of  planting  the  crop,  yet  we  regard  it  as  a  bad 
plan.  Sad  experience  along  this  line  tells  us  that,  if  the  ferti- 
lizer makes  the  peanuts  grow,  it  makes  the  grass  grow  too,  and 
faster  than  the  peanuts,  for  the  reason  that  many  grass  seeds 
germinate  fa.ster  than  pindars.  To  prevent  this,  and  also  to 
kill  a  crop  of  weeds  ahead  of  the  cultivation,  have  the  land 
marked  off  and  the  fertilizer  so^vn  ten  days  or  two  weeks  ahead' 
of  the  planting.  In  that  time  the  first  crop  of  grass,  stimulated 
by  the  manuro,  will  have  started  to  growing,   and  freshening 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  29 

up  the  rows  with  the  cultivator  will  destroy  this  early  crop  of 
grass,  and  before  the  second  growth  comes  on  the  peanuts  will 
be  ready  for  the  'weeder  or  the  cultivator. 

As  soon  as  the  plants  are  up  along  the  rows,  cultivation  must 
begin,  in  order  to  check  the  grass  and  prevent  the  soil  from 
getting  crusty.  The  implement  may  be  either  a  cultivator, 
run  close  up  on  both  sides  of  the  row,  or  a  light,  seven-foot 
weeder  passed  over  the  ground.  Lately  the  weeder  is  nuich  in 
use.  One  can  get  over  a  field  rapidly  w'ith  it ;  it  does  not  harm 
the  young  plants  to  run  it  over  them,  and  for  small  grass  and 
to  keep  the  soil  from  baking,  it  is  a  useful  implement. 

If,  after  a  hard  rain,  a  crust  has  formed  or  the  grass  is 
getting  a  strong  hold,  the  five-hoed  cultivator  (small  hoes)  must 
be  run  once  or  twice  to  the  row.  The  best  cultivation  is  done 
with  this  implement.  It  loosens  the  soil  effectually,  and  if  kept 
going  as  often  as  needed,  very  little  other  work  will  be  required. 
But  it  is  well  to  alternate  work  with  the  weeder  to  check  small 
grass  and  keep  the  field  level.  During  dry  seasons  the  weeder 
is  very  useful.  It  may  be  used  from  time  to  time  until  the 
peanut  bloom  begins  to  show,  about  June  20th,  in  the  Southern 
Virginia  latitude.  After  that  the  weeder  is  apt  to  break  off  a 
good  many  blossoms  and  thus  do  harm. 

Unless  the  season  is  showery  and  the  land  foul  with  grass, 
by  the  timely  use  of  weeder  and  cultivator  at  the  earlier  stages 
of  cultivation,  no  hand-hoeing  will  be  required  to  keep  the  crop 
clear  ,  of  grass.  If  spots  here  and  there  get  too  grassy,  hand- 
weeding  should  be  resorted  to.  A  little  grass  among  peanuts, 
after  the  crop  is  well  established,  does  not  harm  them  as  much 
as  many  persons  suppose.  It  is  during  the  early  part  of  the 
season  that  this  crop  needs  the  most  and  best  attention.  After 
the  pod  stems  are  putting  out  and  getting  in  the  soil,  it  does 
the  crop  more  harm  than  good  to  chop  out  or  pull  up  grass  or 
weeds  from  among  the  plants,  Better  let  all  alone  now.  Large 
weeds  may  be 'cut  off  with  a  knife,  but  not  pulled  up. 

As  soon  as  the  crop  begins  to  show  a  good  many  blossoms, 
apply  the  plaster  along  the  rows,  if  it  was  not  put  on  at  plant- 
ing time ;  and  from  now  on,  begin  to  work  up  the  soil,  a  little 
at  each  plowing,  into  a  flat  bed  along  the  rows.  Especially  ought 
Bunch  peas  to  have  a  good  ridge  of  soft  earth  at  this  stage. 
The  soil  should  be  worked  up  well  among  the  vines  of  all  varie- 
ties, and  higher  for  the  Bunch  and  Spanish  nuts  than  other 
sorts.     If  the  pod  stems  do  not  find  the  soil  within  four  or  five 


30  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

inches,  these  stems  will  fail  to  make  any  peas.    Have  the  Flat 
kind  lie'  close  on  a  broad,  flat  bed  of  mellow  soil. 

At  the  last  plowing,  or  afterwards,  make  a  good  water  furrow 
in  the  middle  of  each  balk.  This  leaves  a  broad  bed  for  tin 
vines  to  spread  out  on  and  facilitates  digging. 


HOW  PEANUTS  ARE  HARVESTED. 


"W.  JONES,  Spottsvllle,  Va. 


In  the  latitude  of  Southern  Virginia  the  peanut  harvest  begins 
about  the  last  week  in  September,  and  earlier  as  we  go  south- 
ward, until  in  Florida  and  southern  Texas,  digging  starts  by 
the  first  week  in  September,  and  even  as  early  as  the  last  week 
in  August,  in  exceptional  cases.  The  bulk  of  the  crop,  how- 
ever, both  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  is  dug  leisurely  along 
through  October.  In  some  instances  the  last  of  the  crop  is  not 
up  in  shock  before  the  tenth  or  middle  of  November. 

On  account  of  the  great  value  of  peanut  vines  for  forage, 
the  tendency  of  late  years  runs  to  the  early  harvesting  of  the 
crop,  before  severe  frosts  occur  to  nip  the  vines  and  spoil  them 
for  feed.  Not  only  do  farmers  prefer  to  dig  before  a  frost 
occurs,  but  they  like  to  secure  the  most,  at  least  of  the  better 
part  of  their  crop  before  the  leaves  have  fallen  off  much.  The 
leaves  of  the  peanut  plant  (leaflets,  in  fact,  for  the  peanut  leaf 
is  compound)  are  the  best  part  of  the  hay,  the  part  that  con- 
tains the  most  nutritive  matter,  and  of  course  if  the  leaflets  have 
dropped  off  to  much  extent  before  the  harvest  begins,  as  they 
are  very  apt  to  do  on  old  land  especially,  their  loss  impairs  the 
value  of  the  hay  for  provender. 

But  thei-e  is  some  preliminary  work  to  be  done  before  digging 
begins.  Stakes  around  which  to  shock  the  vines,  and  billets  of 
wood  to  put  under  the  shocks  to  hold  them  off  the  ground,  must 
be  split  and  brought  to  the  field,  and  distributed  at  convenient 
intervals,  so  that  there  will  be  no  delay  when  harvesting  begins. 
Small,  straight  saplings,  cut  seven  feet  in  length,  pointed  at 
both  ends,  are  used  for  stakes.  Or  stakes  may  be  split  the  proper 
size,  of  any  suitable  timber.  Any  old  blocks  of  wood,  broken 
fence  rails,  or  even  stones,  will  answer  to  place  around  the  stakes 
after  they  are  set,  to  shock  the  vines  on.  It  is  better,  however, 
to  use  three  pieces  of  wood  about  two  and  a  half  feet  long  and 
two  or  three  inches  in  diameter,  setting  them  like  a  tripod  around 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


31 


32  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  ' 

the  stake,  the  upper  ends  raised  from  the  ground,  crossed,  and 
locked  by  their  own  weight.  The  shock  is  then  built  upon  this 
tripod,  which  keeps  the  nuts  and  vines  from  being  damaged,  and 
facilitates  their  curing. 

If  the  peanut  vines  are  large  and  rank,  it  may  be  necessary 
to  work  a  double  team  in  plowing  them  up.  Otherwise,  hitch  a 
single  team  to  the  common  turn-plow  without  mold-board, 
and  with  or  without  a  peanut  point,  as  may  be  preferred.  The 
only  object  in  using  a  long  point  is  to  make  sure  the  taproots  of 
the  vines  are  all  severed.  The  plow  should  be  run  on  both  sides 
of  the  rows. 

Men  with  pitchforks  follow  the  plows,  to  lift  the  vines  from 
the  soil  and  put  them  into  small  heaps  along  every  third  or  fourth 
row,  shaking  the  vines  well  before  bunching  them.  It  makes 
easier  and  better  work  in  all  the  subsequent  stages  to  have  a  dry 
soil  and  clear,  sunny  weather  for  the  peanut  harvest.  It  is  at 
this  period  especially  that  sandv  soils  are  so  desirable  in  peanut 
culture.  Stiff  soils,  if  wet,  adhere  to  the  peanut  roots  in  heavy 
masses,  and  render  the  work  doubly  laborious. 

The  shockers  follow  the  other  men,  putting  four  or  five  heap 
rows  into  one  row  of  shocks.  The  stakes  are  set  in  the  ground 
at  suitable  intervals,  according  to  the  size  and  quantity  of  the 
vines,  and  the  piles  of  vines  are  lifted  with  forks  and  laid  in  a  cir- 
cle about  the  place  for  the  shocks.  Care  is  taken  to  set  the 
stakes  firmly  about  two  feet  in  the  ground,  to  prevent  the 
shocks  from  being  blown  over.  The  vines  are  laid  up  in  large 
handfuls  about  the  stakes,  making  a  small,  upright  shock,  or 
stack,  the  tops  being  rounded  oft'  the  better  to  shed  the  rain. '  They 
are  capped  with  grass,  which  protects  the  top  nuts  from  birds 
and  from  damage  by  rain  and  dew. 

Peanuts  may  be  shocked  while  perfectly  green,  or  as  soon  as 
dug,  but  should  not  be  wet  with  rain  or  heavy  dew.  Careful 
hands  shake  the  loose  dirt  from  each  handful  of  vines,  as  they 
are  laid  up  about  the  stakes,  and  place  them  so  that  all  the  nuts 
will  be  out  of  sight  in  the  interior  of  the  shocks.  The  shoclcs 
remain  in  the  field  two  or  three  weeks  luitil  thoroughly  cured, 
and  are  then  removed  to  the  barn  or  other  shelter  for  the  nuts 
to  be  picked  at- leisure.  Or,  the  nuts  are  picked  in  the  field  and 
the  vines  stacked  or  housed. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


33 


34  THE  PEANUT  A'ND  ITS  CULTURE. 

HOW  TO  CULTIVATE  AND  HARVEST  SPANISH  PEANUTS. 

E.  T.  SHACKELPOKD,  Petersburg,  Va. 

The  most  important  requisite  for  the  successful  culture  of 
Spanish  peanuts  is  the  proper  selection  of  seed.  Only  the  best 
improved  seed  should  be  planted— seed  that  for  several  years 
have  been  selected  and  grown  on  rich  land  especially  adapted  to 
Spanish  peanuts.  By  selecting  this  quality  of  seed  it  is  possible 
to  increase  the  production  from  one-third  to  one-half. 

Almost  any  soil,  except  low,  wet  soil,  will  grow  Spanish  peanuts, 
but  a  rich,  light  gray  or  chocolate  soil  is  best.  When  the  land 
on  which  this  crop  is  to  be  planted  has  any  kind  of  fallow,  even 
weeds  or  grass,  it  should  be  plowed  under  in  the  fall  so  that  all 
vegetation  will  be  thoroughly  rotted  before  planting  time.  Land 
plowed  in  the  fall  should  be  re-fallowed  in  the  spring,  put  in 
thorough  order  with  harrows  and  weeders  and  all  the  grass  roots 
possible  gotten  off.  Crops  of  the  best  yield  are  grown  after  corn 
or  on  land  w^hich  has  been  cutlivated  the  preceding  year  in  some 
hoe  crop,  peanuts  excepted.  The  fallowing  of  clean  land  may  be 
delayed  until  spring ;  but  it  is  always  best,  of  course,  to  fallow  in 
the  fall  and  re-fallow  in  the  spring.  When  fallowing  is  delayed 
until  spring  it  should  be  done  before  the  growth  of  vegetation 
is  large,  for  vegetation,  if  turned  under  late,  produces  a  sour- 
ness in  the  soil  which  prevents  a  maximum  yield  of  the  crop. 
When  lime  is  used— and  lime  can  be  used  with  advantage  to 
this  variety  as  well  as  to  other  varieties  of  peanuts— it  should 
be  put  on  the  land  broadcast  in  the  fall  when  a  fallow  is  to  be 
turned  under,  or  it  can  be  applied  in  the  spring  on  clean  land. 
From  15  to  25  bushels  an  acre  should  be  used  on  land  with  a 
fallow,  and  from  10  to  15  bushels  on  clean  land. 

The  planting  of  Spanish  nuts  should  begin  about  the  middle 
of  May  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  From  the  20th  of  May 
to  the  1st  of  June  is  our  favorite  time  for  planting  them.  They 
peg  better  and  therefore  produce  better  yields  when  planted 
during  this  period.  When  seasons  are  not  favorable,  planting 
may  be  delayed  until  the  20th  of  June.  The  seed  should,  of 
course,  be  shelled,  as  they  germinate  quicker,  require  fewer  to 
plant  an  acre,  and  yield  a  stand  from  twenty  to  forty  per  cent, 
better  than  the  nuts  planted  in  the  hull.  They  should  be  shelled 
by  hand,  and  the  best  of  care  taken  not  to  break  the  skins  or 
crack  the  kernels.     The  shelled  nuts  should  be  carefully  picked 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


35 


over,  the  best  kernels  selected  and  all  cracked,  skinned  and 
shriveled  kernels,  as  well  as  all  small  or  otherwise  faulty  ones, 
discarded.  About  two  bushels  of  Spanish  nuts  will  yield  ker- 
nels enough  to  plant  an  acre. 

After  the  land  has  been  put  in  thoroug-h  order,  rows  should 
be  laid  off  two  and  a  half  feet  apart  with  a  light  turn-plow, 


CLUSTER  OF  FOL'R  SPANISH   PEANUT  VINES, 
grown  oil  tlie  farm  of  E.  T.  SH.vtKKLi-oi;P,  uear  Petersburg,  Va. 


and  when  fertilizer  is  to  be  used  it  should  be  drilled  in  the 
rows.  The  land  is  then  listed  by  throwing  two  furrows  together 
and  a  weeder  run  over  the  ridges,  making  them  almost  level. 
When  land  is  grassy,  a  cultivator  with  small  teeth  should  be 
used  instead  of  a  weeder.  The  planter  should  follow,  dropping 
the  nuts  one  and  two  in  a  hill,  eight  inches  apart  on  clean  land. 


36  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

and  two  and  three  in  a  hill,  twelve  inches  apart,  on  land  that 
is  grassy,  as  the  plants  at  this  distance  can  be  more  easily 
worked  with  a  hoe ;  or  the  following  preparation  may  be  made : 
After  the  rows  have  been  laid  off,  run  a  cultivator  with  small 
teeth  down  them.  This  will  mix  the  fertilizer  with  the  soil,  if 
any  has  been  used ;  practically  fill  up  the  row  and  get  the  grass 
out  of  the  bed  in  which  the  peanut  is  to  be  planted ;  then  run  a 
cultivator  with  mold-boards  on,  making  a  slight  ridge,  follow- 
ing with  planter  as  above.  Use  a  pegged  wheel  as  a  marker,  if 
you  have  no  planter,  arranging  the  pegs  so  that  they  will  make 
holes  in  the  soil  at  the  distance  it  is  desired  to  plant  the  nuts; 
drop  the  kernels  into  these  holes  and  cover  with  the  feet  or  a 
light  pole,  so  that  the  nuts,  when  planted,  will  be  from  one  to 
two  inches  deep  and  abojit  level  with  the  soil,  not  down  in  a  row. 

In  giving  this  crop  the  first  working,  some  farmers  use  the 
weeder  just  as  the  nuts  begin  to  come  up ;  but  experience  has 
shown  that  this  is  greatly  damaging  to  the  crop,  as  these  young 
plants  are  very  tender  and  easy  to  break.  The  best  method  is 
to  side  the  rows  off  as  soon  as  the  peanuts  have  come  up,  turning 
furrows  from  thein  with  a  turn-plow,  small  mold-board,  plow- 
ing medium  shallow ;  then  cross  with  weeders,  running  diago- 
nally across  the  rows  in  both  directions.  This  will  save  a  good 
deal  of  hoe  work,  and  sometimes  will  take  the  place  of  the  hoe 
entirely  if  the  land  is  not  very  grassy.  When  there  is  much 
grass,  hoes  should  follow,  weeding  them  out.  Then  run  a  culti- 
vator with  small  teeth  beside  the  plants.  Next  use  a  cultivator 
or  malta  shovel.  In  land  that  is  grassy,  the  malta  or  double 
shovel  will  clear  itself  better.  Use  larger-sized  teeth  on  the 
cultivator  at  each  working,  gradually  shoving  some  soil  to  the 
row  of  vines  until  the  crop  is  "laid  by." 

The  last  working  should  be  with  medium-sized  teeth  on  the 
cultivator  next  to  the  vines  and  a  large  tooth  behind,  forming  a 
bed  and  leaving  a  small  water  furrow  between  the  rows  for 
protection  in  wet  weather.  Any  weeds  or  large  bunches  of  grass, 
such  as  crab  grass,  left  after  the  crop  is  "laid  by,"  should  be 
pulled  out  by  hand  or  cut  off,  and  care  should  be  taken  not  to 
injure  the  peas  in  pulling  out  the  weeds  or  grass.  Hoes  should 
not  be  used  after  the  peas  begin  to  make.  As  to  the  number  of 
workings  the  crop  should  have,  this  is,  of  course,  determined 
by  the  condition  of  the  soil  and  by  the  seasons.  Cultivation 
should  be  sufficiently  frequent,  however,  to  keep  the  land  in 
mellow  condition  and  keep  down  the  grass.     The  crop  should 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


37 


be  "laid  by"  reasonably  late— the  latter  part  of  July  or  first 
of  August,  according  to  growth.  During  the  last  working,  care 
should  be  taken  not  to  injure  the  peas. 

When  stable  litter  is  to  be  used,  it  should  be  well  rotted  and 
plowed  under  the  preceding  fall.  The  commercial  fertilizers 
generally  used  by  growers  for  this  crop  consist  chiefly  of  phos- 
phate and  potash,  with  little  or  no  ammonia.  When  .the  vines 
begin  to  bloom,  and  just  before  the  last  plowing,  a  good  coat 
of  land  plaster  over  the  vines,  about  200  pounds  to  the  acre,  will 
greatly  benefit  the  crop. 

The  Spanish  peanut  is  the  easiest  of  all  peanuts  to  cultivate. 


IMPROVED    .SPANISH    PEANUTS,      (Exact  Size.) 
Grown  by  E.  T.  Shackelford,  Petersburg,  Va. 

A  satisfactory  crop  will  grow  on  almost  any  soil  except  low, 
wet  land.  They  grow  better  on  poor  land  than  any  other  crop. 
Peanuts  should  be  rotated  and  never  planted  for  two  years  con- 
secutively on  the  same  land,  but  should  be  followed  with  rye,  ■ 
peas,  clover  or  some  similar  crop,  followed  in  turn  by  corn, 
with  peanuts  the  third  year.  Planting  peanut  crops  in  succes- 
sion is  not  only  an  injury  to  the  land,  but  to  the  crop  as  well, 
as  it  will  hardly  ever  produce  more  than  half  a  yield  the  second 
year.  Where  peanuts  are  grown  on  land  that  was  planted  in 
this  crop  the  previous  year,  the  vines  shed  most  of  their  leaves 


38 


THE  PEAXUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


by  harvest  time.  Where  the  crop  is  rotated  it  is  one  of  the  best 
soil-improving  crops  on  the  farm.  Corn,  after  peanuts,  will 
make  an  excellent  yield  even  on  poor  land.  Xo  crop  can  be 
more  easily  or  profitably  grown  than  Spanish  peanuts. 

Spanish  peanuts  are  also  more  easily  harvested  than  the  other 
varieties.  Poles,  on  which  the  vines  are  to  be  shocked,  should 
be  ready  by  harvest  time,  which  begins  about  October  1st,  after 
the  vines  begin  to  shed  their  leaves.  These  poles  should  be 
about  three  inches  in  diameter  and  six  or  seven  feet  long,  accord- 
ing to  the  distance  they  are  to  be  put  into  the  ground.  One  or 
two  short  strips  should  be  nailed  securely  across  the  bottom,  so 


1  -. 

MkM 

%-^iPi'.  iTiiiiilinf  ■■^mniiHii^ 

1 

^m 

H^^^^^iH 

VINES    SHOCKED     IN     THE     FIELD. 
(Courtesy  Suttblk  Peanut  Company.) 

that  this  strip  will  be  about  four  inches  from  the  ground  after 
tlie  pole  has  been  set  into  the  soil.  The  vines  are  plowed  up  with 
a  single  plow  without  any  mold-board,  and  one  or  two  horses 
can  be  used.  The  dirt  should  be  shaken  out  by  hand  and  the 
vines  placed  in  piles  with  the  peas  all  one  way,  four  rows  being 
piled  together,  or  they  can  be  .shocked  as  shaken  out.  The  poles 
are  usually  distributed  over  the  fields  about  15  yards  apart  in 
rows,  one  row  of  poles  for  every  16  ov  20  rows  of  vines,  accord- 
ing to  yield  of  peas. 

After  the  poles  have  been  securely  set  about  two  feet  deep, 
place  vines  across  the  strip  at  the  bottom  of  the  pole,  forming  a 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  39 

bed  to  hold  the  vines  off  the  ground.  Then  shock  around  the 
poles  with  large  handfuls  of  vines,  putting  the  nuts  next  to  the 
poles,  until  the  shock  is  high  enough,  then  cross  the  vines  at  the 
top  of  the  shocks,  making  a  tie  around  the  pole  and  capping  with 
any  grass  collected  from  the  field.  The  vines  should  be  shaken 
and  shocked  as  they  are  plowed  up.  In  damp  weather  they 
should  not  be  packed  around  the  poles,  but  in  dry  weather  they 
may  be  closely  packed.  These  shocks,  after  the  nuts  and  vines 
have  cured,  can  be  taken  out  of  the  ground  by  poles  being  shoved 
under  them,  handled  easily  by  two  men,  carried  in  wagons  to 
any  part  of  the  farm  and  set  up  by  putting  one  against  the 
other  in  piles  of  from  six  to  twelve,  and  they  will  not  be  damaged 
by  the  weather. 

An  acre  will  yield  from  20  to  30  shocks  about  four  and  a  half 
or  five  feet  high,  each  shock  having  from  one  and  a  half  to  three 
bushels  of  nuts.  Some  crops  yield  as  many  as  fifty  shocks  to 
the  acre,  with  an  average  of  two  bushels  or  more  to  each  shock. 

After  the  vines  and  nuts  have  cured,  the  pods  are  gathered, 
being  picked  from  the  vines  by  hand,  threshed  off  over  barrels, 
or,  as  is  generally  done  in  the  peanut  sections,  threshed  off  by 
machines  for  this  purpose. 


THE  PEANUT  <' POPPER. 


The  accompanying  illustration  shows  a  type  of  the  ordinary 
home-made  peanut   "popper"  which   is  in  general  use   among 


farmers  for  shelling  seed  peanuts.  The" popper"  is  nothing  more 
than  a  piece  of  white  oak,  basket  split,  or  other  wood,  bent  in 
the  shape  of  a  "U"  and  held  in  the  hand.  By  the  pressure  of 
the  thumb  and  fingers  on  this,  the  pods  are  popped  and  the 
hulls  are  then  easily  removed  from  the  kernels.  Simple  as  the 
contrivance  is,  it  saves  the  fingers  a  good  deal,  and  is  almost 


40  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

indispensable.  Some  hav^  triod  peanut  sliellers  for  hulling  the 
seed,  but  the  great  number  cf  kernels  spoiled  thereby  renders 
their  use  unwise  and  costly.  The  work  had  better  all  be  done 
by  hand.  It  is  one  of  the  stat^^es  in  peanut  culture  where  it  pays 
to  go  slowly  and  take  pains. 


PEANUT  CULTURE  IN  ARKANSAS. 


Extracts   from    Bulletin   84,   Arkniisns    Experiment   Station, 
by  C.  L,.  NEWMAN. 

The  cultivation  of  the  peanut  for  stock  food  has  within  recent 
years  been  given  considerable  attention  in  various  localities 
of  the  South,  and  each  year  its  popularity  has  increased.  The 
larger  varieties  of  peanuts,  such  as  are  usually  found  in  con 
fectionery  stands  and  are  sold  everywhere  as  parched  peanuts, 
are  more  fastidious  in  their  soil  requirements  than  the  smaller 
but  more  prolific  Spanish  variety.  The  Spanish  peanut  will 
grow  well  on  almost  any  soil  that  is  Qot  too  wet  at  some  period 
of  the  peanut-growing  season.  It  succeeds  well  in  the  sauily 
pine  flats  of  South  Arkansas,  in  the  rich  alluvial  river, bottoms, 
in  the  prairie  regions,  and  in  the  mountain  sections.  So  far  as 
the  writer's  experience  and  observation  extends,  the  Spanish 
peanut  wall  not  only  succeed,  but  make  profitable  returns, 
whei-over  the  cow  pea  will  succeed.  Like  the  cow  pea  and  so>- 
bean,  the  peanut  is  decidedly  drouth-resistant,  and  will  produce 
profitable  crops  in  seasons  of  drouth,  when  many  of  the  grami- 
naceous plants  fail. 

For  ten  or  fifteen  years  the  Station  has  grown  annual  crops 
of  Spanish  peanuts,  and  various  other  varieties,  for  a  large 
portion  of  this  time.  As  a  hog  food,  nothing  has  been  found 
that  will  more  cheaply  produce  a  gain  in  weight  equal  to  that 
produced  by  the  Spanish  peanut.  As  compared  with  corn,  the 
standard  hog  food,  one-fourth  of  an  acre  of  peanuts  produced 
313  pounds  of  pork,  and  the  same  area  in  corn  produced  only 
109  pounds  of  pork— a  difference  of  nearly  three  hundred  per 
cent,  in  favor  of  Spanish  peanuts,  as  compared  with  corn. 
Cattle,  horses  and  poultry,  as  well  as  hogs,  are  fond  of  peanuts, 
and  thrive  upon  them. 

The  fact  that  Spanish  peanuts  will  produce  large  crops  on 
comparatively  poor,  sandy  soil,  should  encourage  their  more 
extensive  growth  as  a  substitute  for  corn;  or  at  least  to  supple- 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  41 

ment  the  grain  crops  when  there  is  a  shortage.  In  South  Arkan- 
sas the  Spanish  peanut  planted  as  late  as  the  1st  of  August  will 
mature  a  good  crop. 

The  preparation  of  the  soil  does  not  differ  from  the  approved 
method  employed  for  corn,  but  should  be  more  thorough  to  in- 
sure a  thoroughly  fine  and  mellow  soil  condition.  Some  throw 
together  a  broad  bed,  while  others  plant  on  the  level  ground, 
getting  the  seed  down  in  any  way  that  is  expedient.  The  prac- 
tice at  the  Station  has  been  to  plant  on  a  level,  covering  the  seed 
not  more  than  one  inch,  if  the  soil  is  in  good  condition  as  regards 
moisture,  and  as  deep  as  two  inches  when  late  plantings  are 
made  in  dry  weather.  The  rule  of  some  peanut  planters  is  to 
throw  up  a  slight  ridge  so  that  the  seed  when  planted  one  or 
one  and  a  half  inches  deep  will  be  at  the  general  level  of  the 
ground. 

Only  good  seed  should  be  planted,  and  if  the  grower  saves  his 
own  seed  they  should  be  selected  when  the  vines  are  harvested 
and  special  care  taken  that  they  do  not  heat  or  otherwise  become 
injured.  Only  the  best  seed  should  be  saved  from  only  the  best 
vines.  The  time  to  plant  varies  with  latitude  and  advent  of 
warm  weather.  A  slight  frost  will  seriously  injure,  if  not 
destroy,  the  peanut  plant,  either  in  spring  or  fall. 

The  object  of  cultivation  is  at  all  times  to  keep  the  surface 
of  the  soil  thoroughly  loose,  and  to  suppress  all  weed  growth. 
The  methods  of  culture  usually  practiced  with  corn,  cotton,  cow 
peas  and  potatoes  will  answer,  and  the  same  implements  may  be 
used.  If  rain  has  fallen  between  the*  time  of  planting  and  the 
germination  of  the  peanuts,  an  iron-tooth  harrow  with  slanting 
teeth  may  be  run  over  the  whole  field ;  or,  better  still,  this  broad- 
cast cultivation  may  be  done  with  the  weeder.  This  should  be 
done  when  the  surface  soil  is  just  dry  enough  to  crumble  nicely 
and  before  it  has  become  hard  enough  to  bake. 

If  the  hoe  is  used  after  the  pods  have  begun  to  form,  great 
care  should  be  taken  lest  the  yoimg  pods  be  cut  off  or  pulled  by 
the  use  of  the  hoe.  If  the  vines  of  the  variety  grown  are  of 
prostrate  habit,  cultivation  with  both  hoe  and  plow  must  cease 
when  the  plants  have  pretty  well  covered  the  ground,  but  those 
of  upright  growth  may  be  cultivated  as  long  as  the  presence  of 
weeds  or  the  condition  of  the  soil  may  indicate  need  of  cultiva- 
tion. If  the  soil  is  in  good  physical  condition  at  the  beginning, 
the  first  plowing  need  not  be  more  than  two  inches  deep.  The 
practice  of  covering  the  blossoms  of  the  peanut  with  soil  is  not 


42  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

only  no  advantage,  but  a  direct  injury.  Experiments  conducted 
for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  effects  of  covering  the  vines 
while  in  blossom  have  given  decreased  yields  of  more  than  one- 
fourth,  as  compared  with  not  covering  the  vines.  It  is  an  ex- 
pensive and  tedious  operation  that  not  only  does  no  good,  but 
is  a  direct  injury. 

Harvesting  should  not  be  delayed  for  any  great  while  when 
the  first  formed  nuts  have  matured,  since  these  are  not  infre- 
quently lost  by  sprouting,  induced  by  rain  occurring  after  the 
nuts  have  matured.  Early  planting  should  be  examined  at  inter- 
vals and  dug  before  there  is  any  loss  from  this  cause. 

The  yield  of  peanuts  per  acre  varies  from  25  bushels  to  100, 
and  occasionally  as  high  as  150  bushels.  The  highest  yield  re- 
corded by  the  Arkansas  Station  is  143.5  bushels.  This  yield 
was  secured  from  the  Spanish  variety  and  on  highly-fertile  soil. 
The  highest  yields  secured  at  Fayetteville  were  in  1902,  when 
the  Virginia  White  yielded  113.6  bushels  per  acre,  and  the 
Spanish  yielded  109.9  bushels  per  acre,  on  soil  of  only  ordi- 
nary fertility,  and  without  fertilization  other  than  the  plowing 
under  of  the  stubble  from  a  heavy  crop  of  cow  peas.  This  soil 
was  a  mixture  of  calcareous  and  siliceous  formation,  admirably 
suited  to  the  requirements  of  the  peanut  plants. 

In  addition  to  the  crop  of  nuts,  there  is  secured,  under  proper 
management,  a  good  yield  of  hay  of  value  very  nearly  equal  to 
clover  and  alfalfa,  pound  for  pound.  The  numerous  estimates 
made  by  the  Station  as  regards  the  yield  of  hay  from  a  crop 
of  peanuts  varies  from  one  to  very  near  three  tons  per  acre. 

This  hay  is  usually  worth  at  least  $10  per  ton,  and  may  be 
considered  a  by-product  when  the  nuts  are  harvested  for  market. 
When  the  Spanish  variety  is  grown  for  the  purpose  of  being 
grazed  by  hogs,  the  hay  may  be  mown  before  the  hogs  are 
turned  into  the  field,  or  it  may  be  grazed  by  cattle,  horses,  sheep 
or  goats,  and  hogs  then  given  access  to  the  nuts. 

Spanish  peanuts,  intended  for  grazing  by  hogs,  may  be 
planted  at  any  time  after  danger  of  frost  is  over,  to  the  first 
or  middle  of  July,  in  North  Arkansas,  and  as  late  as  the  middle 
of  August  in  the  Southern  part  of  the  State.  The  most  profit- 
able practices  with  this  variety  consist  in  growing  the  peanut 
with  some  other  crop,  as  corn,  or  after  some  crop  has  been 
harvested.  When  .grains,  Irish  potatoes,  crimson  clover,  and 
such  crops  as  are  harvested  in  May  and  June  have  been  taken 
off,  the  same  fields  may  be  seeded  to  peanuts.     They  may  be 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  43 

planted  in  missing  places  in  the  cotton  and  corn  fields,  between 
the  hills  of  corn  in  the  rows,  or  in  the"  middle,  as  is  frequently 
the  custom  with  cow  peas.  In  fact,  any  unoccupied  areas  so 
situated  that  hogs  may  be  given  access  to  them  may  be  devoted 
to  peanuts  at  little  cost  and  increased  profits. 

The  Station  has  fed  the  whole  peanut  plant  to  horses  and 
mules  doing  ordinary  farm  work.  The  animals  did  as  well  on 
this  ration  alone  as  they  did  before  and  after,  on  the  ordinary 
rations  of  corn  and  hay,  and  in  the  summer  the  advantage  seems 
to  be  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  peanut.  Only  the  Spanish  variety 
was  fed,  and,  after  the  first  few  days,  in  such  quantity  as  the 
appetite  of  the  animals  demanded. 


ADAPTABILITY  OF  THE  PEANUT  TO  THE  ARID  WEST. 


The  peanut  seems  designed  by  nature  for  sections  of  small 
rainfall.  It  loves  sunny  weather,  and  does  not  thrive  in  seasons 
of  much  cloudiness  and  rain.  It  will  endure  without  material 
injury  long  and  severe  periods  of  drought.  Give  it  copious 
dews  at  night  through  July  and  August,  and  it  will  maintain 
its  vigor  for  periods  of  several  weeks  without  rain.  The  strong 
taproot  of  the  plant  enables  it  to  draw  up  moisture  enough  from 
the  undersoil  to  sustain  its  health  and  vitality.  It  is,  therefore, 
a  much  better  drought-resister  than  Indian  corn  and  other  sur- 
face-rooted plants.  It  will  not  only  thrive  wherever  corn  can 
be  grown,  but  will  go  beyond  that,  and  succeed  in  districts  even 
more  arid  and  rainless  than  those  in  which  corn  will  grow. 

It  is  for  these  reasons  that  the  pindar  nut  is  adapted  to  the 
regions  of  limited  rainfall  throughout  the  West;  the  fact  that 
it  is  already  making  its  way  thitherward,  with  steady  strides 
confirms  this.  It  is  now  cultivated  with  profit  in  Texas,  Kansas, 
Oklahoma  and  other  parts  bordering  the  arid  plains;  also  in 
California  and  Nevada,  all  of  which  indicates  that  it  may  be 
carried  farther  still,  even  into  the  hot  and  dry  lands  of  Arizona 
and  New  Mexico. 

Whatever  rain  occurs  in  the  arid  region,  is  all  practically 
during  the  summer,  and  if  it  came  in  gentle  showers  at  short 
intervals  would  be  enough  not  only  for  peanuts  but  for  corn 
also.  That  it  does  not  come  in  this  way,  but  in  sudden  down- 
pours of  great  volume,  at  only  long  and  uncertain  intervals,  is 
the   bad   feature   of  the   climate   there.     Yet  the   same   thing 


44  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

occurs  in  the  peanut  belts  of  the  South,  sudden  heavy  rains  and 
washouts,  to  the  detriment  of  the  peanut  crop. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  harvest  time  of  the  peanut,  October 
and  November,  is  ahnost  a  rainless  season  in  the  dry  region. 
Sunny  skies  and  mild,  clear  weather  is  the  rule,  then,  in  the  so- 
called  arid  districts.  This  is  just  the  ideal  weather  for  the 
peanut  harvest;  better,  as  a  rule,  than  that  which  prevails  in 
the  peanut  belt  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  at  harvest  time. 

Surely,  then,  the  indications  are  favorable  for  the  peanut,  in 
large  parts,  at  least,  of  the  unoccupied  "West.  That  it  may  be 
carried  farther  than  corn,  is  an  intimation  that  it  may  become 
the  one  great  staple  of  all  that  region,  not  only  a  commercial 
product,  but  the  forage  supply  for  stock  and  poultry,  and  also 
one  of  the  main  items  of  human  food.  It  seems  designed  for 
this  latter  purpose— a  famine  supply  for  the  preservation  of 
the  population  of  desert  lands,  where  few  other  things  will  grow. 
It  is  oil  and  bread  in  one,  and  will  sustain  life  of  itself. 


HOW  PEANUTS  ARE  PREPARED 

BY  FACTORIES  FOR  THE  TRADE. 


Peanut  cleaning  and  shelling  is  now  one  of  the  most  important 
industries  in  Virginia.  There  are  about  twenty-five  of  these 
re-cleaning  plants  in  this  State,  representing  a  capital  of  several 
millions  of  dollars. 

The  nuts,  as  marketed  by  the  farmers,  contain  considerable 
quantities  of  dirt,  vines,  sticks,  broken  nuts  and  the  like,  and  in 
the  case  of  the  Virginia  peanut,  the  first  step  in  these  re-cleaning 
plants  is  to  remove  this  foreign  matter.  Most  of  the  factories 
are  five  stories  high.-  The  goods  are  elevated  to  the  top  floor, 
where  they  are  graded  according  to  quality,  and  dumped  into 
large  bins  or  hoppers.  From  these  bins  they  pass  through  large 
cylindrical  rollers,  which  remove  the  dirt  and  serve  to  polish 
the  nuts;  thence  through  a  series  of  fans,  which  blow  out  the 
sticks,  vines  and  trash  and  the  worthless  hulls  which  contain  no 
kernels.  The  goods  then  pass  to  the  next  floor,  and  after  more 
fanning,  which  takes  out  the  moderately  light  nuts,  they  pass 
over  tables  with  endless  belts,  where  negro  women  remove  the 
dark  and  discolored  nuts  and  the  broken  and  cracked  shells. 
This  grade,  which  is  known  as  Fancy  Hand-Picked,  drops  to  the 
lower  floor,  where  it  is  put  up  in  properly-branded  bags. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  45 

The  moderately-light  peanuts,  which  have  been  blown  out,  and 
the  discolored  nuts,  which  are  picked  out,  are  run  into  extra  or 
second-grade  of  Hand-Picked,  while  the  still  lighter  nuts  are 
shelled  and  made  into  the  grades  known  as  No.  1  and  No.  2 
Virginia  Shelled.  The  largest  nuts  from  the  Fancy  Hand- 
Picked  grade  are  screened  before  the  goods  are  finally  bagged, 
and  go  to  make  up  what  is  known  as  the  Jumbo  grade  of  Fancy 
Hand-Picked,  while  the  No.  1  Virginia  Shelled  are  similarly 
treated,  and  the  largest  of  these  nuts  graded  as  Extra-Large 
Virginia  Shelled. 

The  Spanish  peanuts  are  cleaned  by  the  same  process  as  the 
Virginia  nuts,  only  less  care  is  given  them,  as  these  goods  are 


mm 


?>^*K^f  :-^J^'i?"^ 


.SORTING    PEANUTS  IN  A  FACTORY. 


shelled  and  the  color  of  the  hull  makes  little  difference,  as  long 
as  the  kernels  are  sound. 

The  shelling  is  done  with  a  revolving  drum  in  a  semi-circular 
bed  or  grating,  the  nuts  being  crushed  and  the  kernels  dropped 
through  the  grating,  while  the  hulls  are  removed  by  a  system 
of  fans.  Some  of  the  smaller  peanuts  do  not  shell,  while  on  the 
other  hand  many  of  the  kernels  are  split.  These  split  nuts  are 
screened  from  the  whole  kernels,  and  the  unshelled  nuts  are 
picked  out  by  hand,  and  go  through  the  shellers  the  second  or 
third  time,  or  until  they  are  shelled. 


46  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


SPANISH  PEANUT  INDUSTRY  AT  PETERSBURG,  VA. 

Of  the  numerous  and  varied  manufactories  in  the  city  of 
Petersburg-,  there  is  none  so  important  as  the  peanut  industry, 
which  has  grown,  since  1865,  to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable 
crops  in  Virginia. 

Petersburg,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  peanut  belt,  has  the 
distinction  of  being  the  largest  Spanish  peanut  market  in 
America.  There  are  in  operation  in  this  city  seven  large  facto- 
ries, not  for  the  "-manufacture"  of  peanuts,  as  the  term  would 
suggest,  but  for  cleaning  and  grading  peanuts.  In  addition  to 
these  plants,  others  are  in  process  of  building. 

It  is  difficult  to  secure  exact  figures,  but  a  conservative  esti- 
mate is  that  45,000,000  pounds  of  Spanish  peanuts  are  handled 
in  this  market  annually,  and  they  are  shipped,  not  only  to  all 
parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  but  to  France,  Germany 
and  other  foreign  countries.  A  large  business  is"  also  done  in 
Virginia  peanuts. 

The  capital  invested  in  the  industry  amounts  to  $250,000,  and 
$70,000  is  paid  out  annually  to  400  operatives.  The  value  of  the 
total  output  of  this  market,  including  the  large  quantity  of  Vir- 
ginia and  Spanish  peanuts  handled  by  the  commission  mer- 
chants, approaches  $2,500,000  each  year. 

The  winter  months  are  bus}-  ones  for  peanut  cleaners,  and 
commencing  about  the  middle  of  November,  when  the  new  crop 
begins  to  arrive,  all  the  factories  in  Petersburg  are  scenes  of 
unusual  activity.  There  is  the  old  negro  farmer,  with  one  or 
two  bags,  which  constitutes  his  entire  crop,  as  well  as  his  more 
prosperous  neighbor,  with  several  hundred  bags.  All  of  these 
goods  have  to  be  examined  very  carefully,  many  being  rejected 
on  account  of  not  being  dry  enough  to  handle ;  others  on  account 
of  being  damaged;  and  still  others  by  reason  of  not  having 
been  thoroughly  cleaned.  All,  however,  contain  a  greater  or 
less  amount  of  dirt,  and  cleaners  say  that  if  they  could  save 
what  is  necessarily  paid  out  for  dirt  that  this  item  alone  would 
constitute  a  satisfactory  profit  for  the  year's  work. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  47 


VIRGINIA  PEANUT  INDUSTRY  AT  NORFOLK,  VA. 

In  Norfolk  the  peanut  factories  were  not  an  accident,  but  a 
necessity.  The  peanuts  carried  there  were  not  fit  for  market. 
They  had  to  be  cleaned,  sorted  and  graded  before  they  could  be 
put  on  the  market  profitably.  One  of  the  first  cleaning  facto- 
ries in  Norfolk  was  started  in  1876  by  K.  B.  Elliott,  with  one 
table,  on  "Water  street.  In  twenty-five  years  Mv.  Elliott  re- 
tired from  the  business  with  a  fortune.  Meantime  his  factory 
was  increased,  and  the  trade  grew  with  the  addition  of  other 
factories,  till  Norfolk  has  become  one  of  the  greatest  markets 
in  the  world  for  Virginia  peanuts.  The  commission  houses  and 
factories  in  that  city  require  $2,000,000  annually  for  conducting 
their  trade. 

Among  the  men  engaged  in  this  trade  in  the  early  years  of 
the.  peanut  business  were  B.  F.  Walters,  J.  H.  Cutehens,  B.  H. 
Vellines  and  W.  R.  Russell.  Some  of  the  older  firms  were  the 
Norfolk  Storage  Company,  the  Old  Dominion  Peanut  Company, 
the  Roper  Storage  Company  and  Walters  &  Cutehens.  Others 
came  in  from  time  to  time,  till  Norfolk  became  the  center  of  the 
trade. 

About  the  time  the  peanut-cleaning  factories  were  started 
there,  a  line  of  schooners  was  established  to  bring  the  nuts  from 
Smithfield  and  the  adjacent  country  to  market.  The  traffic  and 
importance  of  the  line  became  so  great  that  it  was  bought  by 
the  Old  Dominion  Steamship  Company,  and  a  line  of  steamboats 
now  plies  between  Smithfield  and  Norfolk  twice  a  day.  During 
the  peanut  season,  which  is  about  ten  months  of  the  year,  these 
boats  are  laden  with  an  average  of  1,500  bags  of  peanuts,  either 
going  or  returning. 

It  is  estimated  that  between  55,000,000  and  65,000,000  pounds 
of  peanuts  are  cleaned  in  Norfolk  every  year,  and  that  a  third  of 
the  whole  crop  of  the  country  is  marketed  there. 


48 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  49 


PEANUT  INDUSTRY  AT  SUFFOLK,  VA. 


Suffolk,  Va.,  situated  as  it  is  at  the  meeting-point  of  five 
railroads,  spreading  out  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel  through  the 
entire  peanut  belts  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  can  well  be 
called  the  "Hub"  of  the  peanut  business. 

A  few  years  ago  there  were  no  factories  in  that  town,  and  the 
farmers  sent  their  peanuts  to  Norfolk  or  Smithfield.  The 
natural  advantages  of  Suffolk  as  a  peanut-cleaning  center  were 
so  evident  that,  with  the  development  of  the  business,  factories 
were  built,  until  there  are  now  six  large  and  well-equipped 
factories  capable  of  cleaning  as  many  peanuts  as  any  place  in 
America. 

Enjoying,  as  it  does,  the  advantages  of  competition  of  many 
railroads,  Suffolk  is  enabled  to  secure  a  more  satisfactory  service 
on  its  outgoing  shipments  than  points  not  so  favorably  located. 
With  every  condition  so  favorable  for  growth,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  development  of  the  peanut-cleaning  business  has  been 
so  rapid  that  some  people  have  not  yet  been  able  to  adjust  them- 
selves to  the  changed  conditions  and  realize  that  Suffolk  is  now 
one  of  the  leading  headquarters  for  Virginia  peanuts. 


FOREIGN  PEANUTS. 


BtlRTOX  H.  ALLBEE,  New  York. 
For  five  years  Market  Editor  New  York  Com 


Importations  of  peanuts  were  formerly  of  considerable  im- 
portance, but  in  recent  years  they  have  amounted  to  very  little. 

During  the  past  year  or.  two  Japan  has  entered  the  field  as  an 
exporter,  and  has  been  able  to  lay  down  nuts  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  cheaper  than  American  growers  can;  but  outside  of  the 
States  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  her  nuts  are  seldom  found. 

Apparently,  peanuts  grow  as  abundantly  abroad  as  they  do 
in  the  United  States,  for  there  is  scarcely  a  country  in  Europe, 
Asia  or  Africa  which  does  not  produce  them  in  greater  or  less 
quantities.  The  best  known  are  produced  in  Spain,  and  come 
here  principally  in  a  shelled  state. 

The  peanut,  or  ground  nut,  as  it  is  universally  called  abroad, 
is  extensively  cultivated  in  all  tropical  and  sub-tropical  coun- 
tries.   In  some  countries  it  grows  almost  wild;  in  others  it  re- 


60  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

ceives  only  a  rude  system  of  culture,  while  in  others  its  cultiva- 
tion has  been  reduced  to  an  intensive  system,  which  brings 
liberal  yields.  For  the  most  part,  however,  it  is  grown  in 
foreign  countries  in  a  haphazard  way,  which  decreases  possible 
yields  and  injures  the  quality  of  the  nuts. 

FRANCE. 

No  peanuts  are  cultivated  in  France,  but  the  largest  trade  in 
Europe  in  these  nuts  is  done  in  Marseille.  During  the  year 
1904  the  imports  to  IMarseille  comprised  100,971  tons  of  decorti- 
cated or  shelled  peanuts  and  97,727  tons  of  peanuts  in  the  shell, 
imported  from  the  following  countries: 

Decorticated  or  shelled  peanuts  from  Madras,  Coromandel 
Coast,  95,603  tons ;  Bombay,  1,252  tons ;  Mozambique,  4,116  tons. 
Total,  281,668  tons.  Peanuts  in  the  shell  from  Senegal  (Ruf- 
fisque),  45,687  tons;  Gambia,  30,450  tons;  other  parts  of  the 
Western  coast  of  Africa,  3,590  tons,  a  total  of  79,727  tons. 
With  the  exception  of  about  2,000  tons,  which  are  sold  to  pickers 
in  different  countries  for  edible  purposes,  all  these  imports  are 
crushed  and  made  into  oil. 

Decorticated  nuts  from  the  Madras  Coromandel  Coast  only 
make  soap-oil,  mostly  consumed  by  the  local  soap  mills,  but  the 
Bombay  and  the  Mozambique  decorticated  nuts,  as  well  as  all 
imports  of  nuts  in  the  shell  from  Senegal,  Gambia  and  other 
parts  of  the  Western  coast  of  Africa,  are  made  into  edible  oils, 
chiefly  used  for  mixing  with  olive  oils  for  salads  and  for  other 
cooking  purposes.  The  finest  oils  are  made  from  the  Senegal 
(Ruffisque,  Sine  and  Cayor)  and  from  the  Gambia  peanuts. 
All  these  nuts  are  imported  by  steamers  in  bulk  cargoes. 

SPAIN. 

In  Europe,  Spain  is  the  largest  producer  of  ground  nuts,  and 
in  former  years  considerable  quantities  have  been  imported 
into  this  country  from  there.  During  1904,  fewer  than  1,000 
bags  came  here,  and  if  others  were  shipped  they  do  not  appear 
in  the  records. 

While  methods  of  cultivation  are  primitive,  and  in  one  sense 
expensive,  when  compared  with  the  methods  adopted  in  the 
United  States,  labor  is  cheaper  in  Spain.  But  the  expense  of 
transportation  to  the  seaboard,  and  thence  across  the  Atlantic, 
increases  the  cost,  so  that  under  ordinary  circumstances  Spanish 
nuts  cannot  compete  in  New  York,  or  other  important  markets, 
with  the  product  of  the  American  plantations. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  51 

The  methods  of  cultivation  pursued  in  Spain  are  not  essen- 
tially different  from  those  commonly  followed  in  Virginia, 
with  the  exception  that  the  plantations  are  smaller.  In  most 
localities  comparatively  little  attempt  is  made  to  increase  the 
yield  by  following  modern  and  approved  scientific  methods  of 
culture.  On  the  other  hand,  in  some  regions  great  progress  has 
been  made  in  this  direction,  and  the  methods  and  yield  are 
quite  as  progressive  and  liberal  as  any  that  have  ever  been  seen 
in  Virginia,  and  the  industry  is  being  steadily  improved. 

Little  accurate  information  can  be  obtained  regarding  rela- 
tive yield.  While  forty  bushels  per  acre  is  considered  an  average 
yield  for  the  tropics,  this  is  somewhat  reduced  in  Spain.  One 
authority  says  that  thirty  bushels  per  acre  is  liberal  for  Spain. 

The  value  of  the  nut  oil,  compared  with  the  nut  grown  in 
Virginia,  is  probably  lower.  The  soil  in  which  they  are  grown 
does  not  possess  quite  the  same  elements  in  the  same  relative 
proportions,  and  pound  for  pound  of  raw  nuts,  the  American 
product  will  probably  yield  more  and  better  oil.  This  opinion 
is  shared  by  experts  who  have  handled  many  of  both  varieties 
of  nuts. 

When  relative  values  for  confectioners'  purposes  are  consid- 
ered, the  variation  is  not  so  wide.  Spanish  nuts  actually  pro- 
duced in  Spain  are  probably  quite  as  valuable  for  that  purpose 
as  Spanish  nuts  grown  in  this  country.  Some  ascribe  a  more 
delicate  flavor  to  the  American  nuts.  Confectioners  buy  the 
foreign  nuts  and  use  them  as  freely  as  they  do  any  nuts,  if  the 
price  suits.  It  is  price,  rather  than  any  delicate  gradations  of 
quality,  that  finally  determines  the  action  of  confectioners,  or 
other  large  consumers. 

Importations  are  divided  between  nuts  in  the  shell  and  the 
shelled  grades.  If  they  are  left  in  the  shell,  they  stand  the 
sea  voyage  of  three  thousand  miles  without  injury;  but  shelled 
nuts  are  likely  to  become  damp  or  heated  in  the  holds  of  the 
vessels,  and  sometimes  they  are  seriously  damaged  in  transit. 
Proper  stowing  will  prevent  this,  however,  and  only  on  rare 
occasions  would  it  occur. 

The  price  of  the  Spanish  nuts  laid  down  in  American  seaport 
cities  will  average  about  one  cent  to  a  cent  and  a  half  above  the 
price  for  American  nuts  of  the  same  quality  and  grade.  Per- 
haps, if  the  crop  were  short  in  this  country  and  liberal  in 
Spain,  a  lower  range  of  prices  would  be  established,  but  in  gen- 
eral terms  this  range  will  hold  good.     A  year  or  two  ago  the 


52  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

price  differences  were  only  a  fraction  of  a  cent.  Unless  condi- 
tions change  materially,  Spanish  importations  will  never  become 
an  important  factor  in  American  markets.  Only  small  quanti- 
ties will  be  imported  and  these  will  come  to  special  customers 
rather  than  to  the  general  trade. 

A  large  part  of  the  Spanish  nuts  follow  the  African  nuts  to 
the  oil  manufactories  at  i\Iarseille.  Some  go  to  England  and 
others  are  exported  to  Germany,  but  probably  a  larger  part  is 
consumed  at  home,  either  in  the  manufacture  of  oil  or  in  other 
ways.  Confectioners  use  immense  quantities  of  them,  while 
many  are  eaten,  as  in  this  country.  In  some  localities  ground 
nuts  are  an  important  portion  of  the  daily  diet. 

AFRICA. 

The  peanut  of  America  is  the  Aracliis  hypogcea.  The  peanut 
of  Africa  is  a  different  species,  known  among  botanists  as  the 
Vovandzeia  Siibteiranea.  It  is  much  like  the  American  peanut, 
growing  in  the  same  general  way,  but  is  smaller  and  of  rather 
poorer  quality.  It  differs  from  the  other  in  many  respects, 
while  it  closely  resembles  it  in  others.  Nevertheless  it  is  culti- 
vated very  liberally  along  the  coasts  and  immense  quantities 
are  exported  to  IMarseille,  Hamburg,  Berlin  and  London,  where 
they  are  used  largely  for  making  oils. 

Little  is  definitely  known  in  this  country  about  cultivation  in 
Africa,  but  cultivation  there  is  really  little  more  than  planting 
the  seed  and  harvesting  the  crop.  They  are  sometimes  carefully 
cultivated,  but,  as  a  rule,  the  crop  is  allowed  to  grow  as  it  will. 
Cultivation  in  Africa  does  not  mean  the  same  as  cultivation  in 
America,  in  Spain  or  in  Japan.  It  is  carried  on  with  the  least 
possible  labor.  The  cost  of  labor  varies  with  the  locality,  but 
in  that  portion  of  the  world  it  is  very  small. 

Notwithstanding  the  apparent  neglect,  the  plant  is  prolific, 
and  often  nearly  or  quite  forty  bushels  an  acre  will  be  produced. 
All  attempts  to  secure  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  acres  are 
unsuccessful.  It  is  stated  that  some  years  ago  the  production 
of  the  African  coast  was  145,000,000  pounds,  valued  at  1,040,000 
pounds  sterling.  Assuming  that  these  figures  are  approximately 
correct,  production  now,  reckoned  upon  the  basis  of  probable 
ratio  of  increase,  must  be  well  up  toward  200,000,000  pounds. 
The  African  nuts  are  noted  for  their  oil-producing  capacity, 
but  they  are  not  considered  so  good  for  eating  or  for  confec- 
tionery purposes.     The  kernels  are  small,  and  while  of  good. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  63 

white  color  and  well  rounded,  they  are  not  what  manufacturers 
or  dealers  in  this  country  care  for ;  consequently  they  will  never 
become  direct  competitors  as  nuts,  but  their  oil  is  in  strong  com- 
petition with  cotton-seed  and  other  vegetable  oils. 

MALAYAN    ARCHIPELAGO. 

The  peanut  grows  practically  wild  in  the  IMalayan  Archi- 
pelago, and  the  natives  use  it  extensively  for  food.  In  some 
localities  they  press  it  for  its  oil,  though  this  has  not  been  done 
to  any  considerable  extent.  Two  varieties  are  recognized  in 
this  archipelago,  as  well  as  in  Malacca  and  Java.  One  is  white 
and  the  other  is  brown,  the  difference  in  color  referring  to  the 
kernels.  It  is  known  there  as  the  "minyak  katjang,"  or  oil 
bean.    No  records  are  obtainable  of  exports. 

CHINA. 

In  China  the  peanut  is  grown  extensively.  All  the  provinces 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  empire  are  liberal  producers,  but 
comparatively  few  are  exported.  All  that  are  produced  are 
consumed  at  home.  They  are  eaten  by  the  poorer  classes,  and 
in  some  localities  they  make  oil  from  them.  Methods  of  culti- 
vation are  essentially  Chinese,  which  means  they  are  the  crudest, 
hardest  and  most  cumbrous  possible.  They  do  comparatively 
little  besides  the  planting  of  the  seed  and  the  harvesting.  Some 
of  the  ports  which  trade  with  England  and  France  send  nuts 
abroad,  but  no  accurate  statistics  are  kept,  and  those  which  have 
been  given  out  at  different  times  are  apparently  merely  guess 
work. 

China  soon  may  become  a  competitor  with  which  other  ex- 
porters will  have  to  reckon.  The  low  cost  of  cultivation,  the 
comparatively  cheap  transportation  charges  to  centers  whence 
shipment  can  be  made,  and  other  relatively  low  values  of  com- 
modities and  acreage  devoted  to  this  article,  combine  to  make  a 
very  low  price  possible  upon  all  nuts  which  are  produced  in 
China.  The  laborers  employed  in  their  production  are  largely 
coolies,  who  can  be  hired  for  two  cents  a  day  in  American  money. 
Such  labor  almost  anywhere  else  would  be  considered  expensive, 
but  there  it  is  fair  pay,  and  all  parties  are  satisfied. 

The  varieties  grown  in  China  correspond  more  closely  to  the 
Virginia  nuts  than  any  other.  Not  many  of  the  better  grades 
are  now  being  produced,  though  the  possibility  of  improvement 
is  being  studied  with  a  view  of  impro\4ng  varieties  and  grades. 


54  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

JAPAN. 

Japan  is  the  only  Oriental  country  which  has  shown  any 
disposition  to  become  a  competitor  of  the  United  States.  Within 
a  few  years  Japan  has  captured  the  Pacific  Coast  markets.  Prob- 
ably few  Eastern  peanuts  have  been  seen  west  of  the  Rocky 
IMountains,  and  comparatively  few  Japanese  or  other  foreign 
nuts  that  enter  the  country  by  the  west  coast  have  been  shipped 
across  the  continent  to  compete  with  Eastern  nuts.  The  official 
records  show  that  during  the  year  1902  the  total  exports  were 
valued  at  29,232  pounds  sterling  for  the  District  of  Yokahama, 
and  for  1901,  34,05-1:  pounds  sterling.  The  average  production 
for  five  years  has  been  valued  at  16,459  pounds  sterling.  From 
the  whole  of  Japan  total  exports  of  ground  nuts  in  1903  were 
valued  at  34,373  pounds  sterling,  and  in  1902,  36,607  pounds 
sterling. 

There  are  some  Japanese  growers  whose  entire  farms  are 
given  up  to  the  cultivation  of  peanuts  for  commercial  purposes, 
while  others  grow  them  only  as  a  side  crop.  The  soil  of  a  vast 
area  of  Japan  is  well  adapted  to  the  production  of  peanuts  with- 
out the  need  of  fertilization  or  other  costly  agricultural  methods. 
The  careful  work  of  the  Japanese  grower  is,  however,  in  strong 
contrast  to  the  careless  manner  in  which  the  nuts  are  grown  in 
Africa,  or  even  in  some  localities  in  Spain.  The  aim  is  to  pro- 
duce as  many  and  as  good  quality  nuts  as  possible,  in  an  en- 
deavom  to  secure  as  much  revenue  from  the  soil  as  it  can  be 
made  to  produce.  If  the  cost  of  production  could  be  accurately 
computed,  it  would  probably  be  found  to  be  less  than  the  cost 
in  this  country  or  even  in  Europe.  Within  a  few  years  the 
export  trade  has  assumed  more  importance.  Samples  of  nuts 
from  Japan,  shown  in  New  York,  have  not  attracted  attention 
because  of  their  high  cost.  The  quality,  however,  could  not  be 
questioned.  Laid  beside  the  best  of  the  Virginia  nuts,  no  one 
could  distinguish  them.  A  number  of  large  importing  interests 
have  begun  systematic  work  in  introducing  Japanese  nuts  in 
the  different  markets  of  this  country. 

In  oil-producing  qualities,  the  Japanese  nuts  are  the  equal  of 
those  in  America  and  Spain.  Japanese  manufacturers  make 
considerable  oil,  but,  so  far  as  reported,  the  bulk  of  it  is  kept 
at  home. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  55 


-ARACHIDES  IN  MARSEILLE. 

HO>'.  ROBERT  P.  SKINNER,  V.  S.  Consul  Geueral, 
Klarsellle,   Prance. 


Marseille  imported  182,010  tons  of  arachides  (peanuts)  in 
1904,  of  which  100,971  tons  arrived  already  decorticated  and 
mainly  from  India,  and  80,039  tons  in  the  shell,  principally 
from  the  west  coast  of  Africa.  These  figures  vary  from  year 
to  year,  according  to  crop  conditions,  the  local  market  being 
prepared  to  absorb  whatever  the  producing  countries  can  supply. 
All  of  this  material  is  taken  up  by  the  oil  mills,  and  at  least  one- 
half  of  the  total  importation  is  converted  into  the  higher  grades 
of  comestible  oil,  competing  on  its  own  merits  with  olive  and 
cotton  oils. 

The  shelled  Indian  nuts  yield  an  inferior  oil,  much  of  which 
is  manufactured  into  soap,  while  the  African  nuts  furnish  the 
edible  grades  in  high  repute.  This  is  the  general  distinction 
between  Indian  and  African  nuts,  although  the  product  of  both 
countries  supplies  a  certain  proportion  of  both  edible  and  indus- 
trial grades.  To-day  the  Indian  decorticated  (shelled)  nuts  are 
offered  in  Marseille  at  28f.50  ($5.50)  per  ton,  against  24f.  to 
27f.  ($4.63  to  $5.21),  which  the  African  nuts  command  in  the 
husk.  The  dift'erence  is  therefore  very  materially  in  favor  of 
the  African  arachide. 

On  several  occasions  I  have  been  consulted  in  regard  to  the 
probabilities  of  securing  American  arachides  for  this  market, 
but  thus  far  our  crop  has  never  been  large  enough  to  enable 
our  exporters  to  share  in  the  business  in  an  important  way,  nor 
have  the  oil-yielding  qualities  of  the  sample  shipments  greatly 
encouraged  efforts  in  this  line.  The  American  nut  furnishes  an 
oil  that  is  not  famous  as  to  quality,  and  of  such  limited  quantity, 
compared  with  the  African  kernels,  as  to  have  suggested  the 
necessity  of  cultivating  a  new  variety,  if  our  farmers  expect  to 
engage  in  this  business. 

The  American  arachides  or  peanuts  are  now  consumed  ex- 
clusively in  natural  form  or  by  the  confectionery  trade,  and  for 
these  objects  they  are  perhaps  the  best  in  the  world,  although 
the  Spanish  variety  is  also  highly  thought  of.  In  1904,  owing 
to  a  short  crop  in  the  United  States,  exports  of  peanuts  to  the 
declared  value  of  $27,065.45  were  sent  to  America  from  Mar- 
seille.    I  followed  these  shipments,  and  learned  that  however 


56  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

excellent  for  oil-making  purposes,  these  re-exported  African 
nuts  were  much  less  desirable  for  edible  purposes  than  our  own. 
Since  that  time  I  have  been  in  correspondence  with  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  upon  my  proposition  to  produce  a  new 
variety  in  America,  which  shall  combine  both  the  excellent  flavor 
of  the  native  nut  and  the  oil-giving  qualities  of  the  African. 
If  scientific  cultivation  can  bring  about  the  result  hoped  for, 
our  Southern  farmers  may  be  able  not  only  to  offer  their  product 
in  Europe,  where  arachides  are  desired  for  oil-making  purposes 
only,  but  they  may  also  make  possible  the  creation  and  organiza- 
tion of  a  new  oil-crushing  industry  in  the  United  States  second 
only  to  the  cotton-oil  industry  of  to-day.  Should  it  be  impossi- 
ble to  obtain  a  new  variety  satisfactorily  meeting  all  require- 
ments, our  planters  must  then  either  remain  satisfied  with  such 
domestic  business  as  they  have  at  present,  or  grow  two  varie- 
ties—one for  oil  and  one  for  roasting. 

The  best  oil  nuts  handled  in  Marseille  are  received  from  the 
Provinces  of  Ruffisque,  Sine  and  Cayor,  in  Senegal.  Samples 
of  these  seeds  have  been  sent  to  Washington,  for  the  service  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture,  in  connection  with  the  sugges- 
tion referred  to  above.  They  could  be  obtained,  of  course,  in 
commercial  quantities  for  planting  on  a  large  scale,  if  anybody 
wished  to  undertake  any  private  experiments. 

In  iMarseille,  arachide  oil  is  preferred  to  cotton  oil,  other 
things  being  equal.  It  is  to-day  quoted  at  70f.80  per  100  kilos. 
($13.66  per  220  lbs.),  as  to  edible  qualities,  against  46frs.  per 
100  kilos.  ($8.88  per  220  lbs.)  for  choice  American  white  edible 
cotton  oil.  This  marked  difference  in  price  is  due  to  the  excep- 
tional shortage  of  peanut  oil,  and  does  not  represent  normal 
conditions. 

In  Europe  it  has  long  been  regarded  as  singular  that  so  lit- 
tle has  been  done  in  the  United  States  up  to  this  time  in  the 
direction  of  manufacturing  vegetable  oils  other  than  cotton  oil. 
The  demand  for  these  oils  throughout  the  world  appears  to  be 
slowly  but   steadily  increasing. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  57 


HOW  PEANUT  OIL  IS  MADE. 


Hon.  Robert  P.  Skinner,  the  United  States  Consnl-General  at 
Marseille,  France,  in  a  recent  report  published  by  the  Govern- 
ment, gives  the  following  information  concerning  the  making  of 
peanut  oil : 

"In  Marseille  the  unshelled  arachides  are  decorticated  with 
great  care,  so  as  to  injure  the  kernel  as  little  as  possible.  After 
the  first  process,  the  kernels  and  shells  are  carried  to  a  win- 
nowing machine  (sasseur),  in  which  sieves,  paddles  and  strong 
air  currents  are  so  contrived  that  the  greater  part  of  the  kernels 
drop  into  a  receptacle,  while  the  residue  moves  into  another  com- 
partment, where  the  same  process  is  repeated,  and  the  kernels 
remaining  in  the  shell  are  similarly  secured.  The  winnowing 
process  continues  until  nothing  but  the  husks  and  red  cuticle 
remain,  and  throughout  the  process  the  agitation  of  the  material 
is  such  as  to  eliminate  the  most  of  the  red  skins.  Some  manufac- 
turers make  a  pretense  of  removing  the  red  skins  separately, 
but  in  actual  process  it  is  fractured  by  decortication  and  elimi- 
nated in  the  sasseur. 

"After  leaving  the  winnowing  machine,  the  seeds  are  intro- 
duced into  a  crusher,  which  compresses  them  into  paste.  The 
paste  now  passes  to  the  'chauffoir,'  or  heating  pans.  These 
heating  pans  may  be  warmed  or  left  to  cool  at  will.  At  their 
base  is  a  sort  of  drawer,  from  which  the  workmen  remove  the 
paste  to  fill  their  hair  mats.  These  mats  being  filled,  they  are 
taken  to  the  press  and  the  highest  grade  of  edible  oil  extracted. 
In  order  to  secure  the  best  results,  the  pans  should  be  cool,  and  the 
resultant  product  is  called  'huile  surfine  a  froid. '  The  pans 
being  cool,  the  proportion  of  oil  obtained  is  necessarily  limited, 
and,  in  actual  practice,  a  great  many  manufacturers  heat  their 
material  even  for  the  first  pressing. 

"A  pressure  of  300  kilograms  (660  pounds)  per  square  centi- 
meter (0.36  inch)  is  applied  gradually,  in  order  that  as  little 
mucilaginous  matter  as  possible  may  be  expressed  with  the  oil. 
This  process  being  terminated,  the  mats  are  removed  from  the 
press  and  the  seed  cake  reduced  to  paste.  Steam  is  now  applied 
to  the  mixture,  and,  when  the  mass  is  sufficiently  warm,  pressure 
is  applied  as  before,  and  the  product  is  now  known  as  'huile  fine 
a  chand. ' 

The  pressure  upon  the  mats  leaves  a  ragged  edge  upon  the 


58  THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 

cake,  which  is  cut  off  by  means  of  a  mechanical  chopper.  These 
fragments,  which  contain  a  large  proportion  of  oil,  are  submitted 
again  to  the  press  with  the  next  pressing. 

' '  On  issuing  from  the  press  the  graded  oils  are  stored  in  tanks, 
and,  after  settling  for  a  time,  are  pumped  through  filters.  They 
are  then  bleached  with  fuller's  earth,  which,  in  the  case  of 
arachide  oils,  is  quite  sufficient,  as  they  are  naturally  of  a  yel- 
lowish color.  "Were  they  brown,  it  would  be  necessary  to  treat 
them  with  alkali — like  crude  cotton-oil. 

"The  ordinary  peanut  cake  is  sold  for  cattle  feed  at  prices 
ranging  from  12  to  16  francs  ($2.31  to  $3.09)  per  100  kilograms 
(220.46  pounds).  It  contains  10  per  cent,  of  oil.  If  the  oil 
seed  from  which  the  cake  is  produced  is  fermented  or  otherwise 
damaged  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  the  cake  unfit  for  feed- 
ing purposes,  it  is  sold  to  oil  extractor^,  who  treat  it  with  a  sul- 
phate, usually  carbon  bisulphide.  The  peanut  shells  are  sold 
to  be  mixed  with  bran. 

"According  to  the  Marseille  Chamber  of  Commerce,  unshelled 
arachides  yield  38  per  cent,  of  oil.  Shelled  Coromandel  nuts 
yield  from  38  to  42  per  cent.,  and  shelled  JNIozambique  nuts  from 
44  to  45  per  cent. 

"The  Marseille  manufacturers  not  only  supply  the  extensive 
requirements  of  France,  but  in  1902  exported  29,451  tons  of 
vegetable  oil  to  foreign  countries. ' ' 


THE  PEANUT  AS  A  FOOD. 


As  a  food  for  man,  the  peanut  has  a  high  claim  upon  popular 
favor,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  considered 
a  regular  article  of  diet  and  placed  in  some  form  upon  our 
tables.  Its  analysis  shows  that  the  kernel  contains  25.8  per 
cent,  protein  and  38.6  per  cent,  fat,  possessing  a  higher  food 
value  than  any  other  crop  a  farmer  can  grow.  United  States 
reports  on  food  stuffs  show  that  the  experiments  made  by  the 
Government  point  to  the  conclusion  that  nuts  are  not  indigesti- 
ble and  ought  to  be  counted  among  the  healthiest  of  foods. 
Professor  Jaff'a,  of  the  University  of  California,  reporting  inter- 
esting experiments  made  upon  men  engaged  in  hard,  manual 
work,  states  that  nuts  are  the  cheapest  source  of  energy,  peanuts 
ranging  far  ahead.  A  prominent  Southern  physician  says  the 
peanut  is  the  best  food  a  man  can  eat.     There  are  sanitariums 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE.  59 

and  hospitals  where  the  little  peanut  constitutes  the  chief  article 
of  diet.  It  is  ground  and  added  to  bread,  made  into  croquettes, 
meringe,  salads,  soups,  jumbles,  griddle  cakes,  muffins,  pies,  and 
utilized  in  numerous  other  ways. 

Peanut  butter  is  rapidly  becoming  a  staple  article  of  com- 
merce, and  it  is  claimed  for  this  butter  that  it  has  these  marked 
advantages :  it  does  not  absorb  offensive  odors,  will  stand  a  high 
temperature  without  melting,  and  does  not  become  rancid  when 
made  pure.  For  the  manufacture  of  candies  and  confections, 
the  peanut  is  becoming  more  popular  than  ever.  From  refresh- 
ments on  special  occasions  it  is  rapidly  becoming  esteemed  as  a 
food. 

The  peanut  will  doubtless  become  one  of  the  great  staples 
of  commerce,  to  take  rank  with  wheat  and  rice  as  one  of  the 
most  important  articles  of  food  supply  for  the  millions  of  con- 
sumers in  all  parts  of  the  world. 


COMPARATIVE  WEIGHTS  AND  PRICES. 


A  bushel  of  Virginia  or  Bunch  peanuts  weighs  22  pounds,  and 
a  bushel  of  Spanish  peanuts  weighs  30  pounds. 

A  bushel  of  Virginia  or  Bunch  peanuts,  of  average  grade,  will 
shell  from  15  to  17  pounds  of  kernels;  and  a  bushel  of  Spanish, 
of  average  grade,  will  shell  about  20  pounds  of  kernels,  yielding 
about  17  pounds  of  No.  1  and  3  pounds  of  No.  2  Spanish. 

When  farmers'  grades  of  Virginia  or  Bunch  nuts  sell  at  3% 
and  4  cents  a  pound.  Fancy  Hand-Picked  nuts,  from  cleaning 
factories,  should  sell  at  5  cents  a  pound,  wholesale. 

When  Spanish  peanuts  sell  at  $1.00  a  bushel.  No.  1  Spanish 
shelled,  from  cleaning  factories,  should  sell  at  51/2  cents  a  pound, 
wholesale. 


THE  PEANUT  AND  ITS  CULTURE. 


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INDEX. 


Acreage  devoted  to  culture,  9. 
Ameiicau  consumption,  5o. 
Arid  West,    adaptability,   43,  44. 
Blossoms,  covering,  41,  42. 
Botany,    12. 

Capital  employed  in,  10. 
Commercial  value,  7,  9, 10,  23,  25. 
County  of  largest  acreage,  10. 
Cultivation  : 

Extent  of,    7,  24. 

First  plowing,  41,  29,  36. 

Foreign,  (see  Foreign  Peanuts) . 

Frequency  of,  25,  36,  41. 

Last  working,  30,  36,  37. 

Level,  25. 

Methods  of,  41. 

Number  persons  engaged  in,  10. 

Preparation  of  soil,    (see  Soil). 

Ridged,   25. 

When  to  begin,  29. 
Domestic  uses,  17. 
Drouth-resisting,  18,  40. 
Famine  supply,  44. 
Fatteuer,  (see  Food). 
Fertilizer : 

Adapted  to,    23,  24,  37. 

Applied  before  planting,  28. 

Mixing  with  soil,  21,  28,  36. 

Quantity  used,  10. 

Stable  manure,    27,  37. 

When  and  how  applied,  28,35. 
Food  Uses : 

Analysis,   24,  58. 

Compared  with  corn,  40. 

For  hogs,    19,  42. 
"     horses  and  cattle,    18,40,43. 
"     man,    22,  58,  59. 
"     poultry,    IS. 
Foreign  Peanuts  : 

Africa,   52. 

China,    53. 

Extent  of  culture,  8,  9,  49. 

France,   50. 


Japan,   54. 

Malayan  Archipelago,    53. 

Marseille  market,   55. 

Principal  uses  of,   55. 

Spain,   50. 
Frost,  13,  19,  30,  41.  ' 
Grades,  44,  45. 
Harvesting : 

Plowing  up  vines,   32,  38. 

Preparation  for,   30,  38.  • 

Shocking  or  stacking,   32. 

Stakes  or  poles,   32. 

When  to  begin,   30,  38,  42. 
Hay,   (see  Vines) . 
Hoes,  when  to  use,    29,  36,  41. 
Implements— Cultivators,  plant- 
ers, threshers,  weeders,  etc.,  24, 

25,  27,  28,  29,  35,  36,  39,  41. 
Importations,   8,  49. 
Improver  of  soil,  17,  18,  22,  23,38. 
Industiy  : 

At  Norfolk,   47. 
''   Petersburg,    46. 
"    Suflblk,    49. 
Insect  enemies,  none,   13. 
Large  nuts,  demand  for,   22. 
"Laying  by,"  (see  Cultivation). 
Leaching  of  soil,    23. 
Leaves : 

Feed  value  of,   30. 

Shedding  on  old  laud,    30,  37. 
Lime : 

Application  of,   24. 

EfTectof,   20. 

Quantity  per  acre,   24,  34. 
Magnitude  of  crop,   9. 
Nodules  : 

Bacteria   gathering,    12,  18,  23. 

Where  most  abundant,  13. 
Qil: 

How  made,   57. 

New  oil-producing  variety,  56. 

Nuts  best  for,   56. 


62 


Index. 


Origin,   11. 

Peculiarities  of  plant,  12,13. 
Picking,  time  to  begin,   32. 
Planting : 

Depth  of,   41. 

Distance  in  row,   28,  35. 

Time  to  begin,   28,  34,  41. 
Plaster : 

How  applied,   27,  28,  29,  37. 

Quantit3' per  acre,   37. 
Popper,  25,  39. 
Pops,  why  prevalent,  21. 
Preparing  for  the  trade,  44,  45. 
Prices,    59,  60. 

Re-cleaning  plants,  7,  46,  47,  49. 
Roots,  color  of,    13. 
Rotation 

of  crops,  21,  22,  23,  27,  37,  40,  42. 
Rows,    28,  35. 
Seed  : 

Breeding  of,   19. 

Care  in  shelling,   25,  34. 

Causes  failure  to  germinate,  25. 

How  to  harvest,   25. 

How  to  improve,    19,  20. 

Importance  of  care    in    select- 
ing, 14,15,20,22,25,34,35,41. 

Preparation  of,   24. 

Quantity  per  acre,   25,  35. 

Special  patch  for,    21. 

Tar  used  on,  27. 

Test  germinating  qualities,  25. 
Shocks  or  Stacks  : 

Bed,    30. 

How  made,   39. 

Number  per  acre,   39. 

Prejiaration  for,   32. 

Stakes  or  poles,    30,  38. 
Soil  : 

Adapted  to,   13,  24,  27,  34. 

Clay,  etc.,   24,  27,  32. 

Improver  of,    17,  18,  22,  23,  38. 

Preparation  of,   24,  27,  34,  41. 

Time  to  fallow,    27,  34. 

Working  up  to  rows,   29. 


Spanish  : 

Crop  on  poor  lands,   40. 

Cultivating,  harvesting,   34. 

Distance  in  rows,   36. 

First  working,   36. 

Home  uses,   16. 

Last  working.    36. 

Market  crop,    16. 

Poultry  crop,    16. 

Rows,   35. 

Seed  per  acre,   35. 

Soil  adapted  to,   34. 

Where  it  succeeds,   40. 

With  other  crops,    43. 
Stands,  how  to  secure,   25. 
Uses,  (see  Varieties). 
Varieties  and  Uses : 

Bunch,   14. 

Georgia  Red,   17. 

Jumbo,  Running,    16,  20. 

North  Carolina,    17. 

Red,    17. 

Running  or  Flat,    14,  15,  30. 

Smooth-Podded  Flat,   16. 

Spanish,    16,  34,  35,  36,  40,  43. 

Tennessee  Red,   17. 

White,   17. 
Vines : 

By-product,   42. 

Compared  with  clover,  42. 

Milk-producing  qualities,    18 

Plowing  up,   32,  38. 

Preparing  for  shocks,   32,  38. 

Stock  food,    18,  24,  42. 

Value  as  a  fertilizer,   18. 

Value  as  hay,    18,  24,  42. 

Value  per  ton,    42. 

Yield  per  acre,    19,  42. 
Washing  of  soil,    23. 
Waste  nuts,  use  of,   19. 
Weights,    59. 
Yield  : 

Annual  total,    9,  10. 

In  leading  States,   9,  10. 

Per  acre,   42. 


fmPERTY  LWRAHt 

JV.  C  State  ColUil 


AMERICAN  NUT  JOURNAL. 


The  Departments  and  Editors. 


PEANUTS :  THEIR  CULTURE  AND  USES. 

B.  W.  Jones,  Spottsville,  Surry  County,  Va. 

PECAN  CULTURE. 

Herbert  C.  White,  Horticulturist,  DeWitt,  Ga. 

CHESTNUT  CULTURE. 

Prof.  Nelson  F.  Davis,  Bucknell  University,  Penua. 

WALNUT  AND  ALMOND  CULTURE. 

Prof.  Myer  E.  Jaffa,  University  of  California,  CaJ. 

GENERAL  NUT  CULTURE. 

Prof.  C.  W.  Burkett,  A.  and  M.  College,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 
Dr.  J.  F.  Wilson,  Sec'y  Nat.  Nut  Growers'  Association. 

PEANUT  MARKETS. 

Theodore  Stuart,  Manager  Norfolk  Office,  Norfolk,  Va, 

NUT  MARKETS  AND  IMPORTATIONS. 

Burton  H.  Allbee,  New  York  City. 

'♦HORTICULTURAL  DIGEST"  DEPARTMENT. 

Prof.  H.  Harold  Hume,  State  Horticult'st,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 


AMERICAN  NUT  JOURNAL. 


Some  Articles  in  Recent  Issues 


Getting  Blood  Into  Nuts.     Nuts  On  The  Farm. 
The  Value  of  Nuts  as  Food. 

Pkof.  Charles  W.  Burkett,  Raleigh,  N.  ('. 

Nutritive  Value  of  Fruits  and  Nuts. 

Prof.  Myer  E.  Jaffa,  University  of  California. 


Peanut  Culture. 


B.  W.  Jones,  Spottsville,  Surry  County,  Va. 


Growing  Popularity  of  The  Peanut. 

Lynton  Lloyd,  Runnymede,  Va. 

Where  Most  of  The  Nuts  Come  From. 

John  Gilliam,    New  York 


Propagation  of  The  Pecan. 


Herbert  C.  White,  DeWitt,  Ca. 


Why  Every  Farmer  Should  Grow  Pecans. 

Late  James  B.  Hunnicutt,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

Increased  Consumption  of  Nuts. 
Popularity  of  The  Walnut. 

Burton  H.  Allbee,  New  York  City. 

To  Prevent  Rancidity  In  Nuts. 

H.  A.  Halbert,  Coleman,  Texas. 


Foreign  Peanuts— Importations. 

Harvey  P.  Miller,  New  York. 


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THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  STEP 
IN   PEANUT   CULTURE 

IS  THE  SELECTION  OF 

Improved  Seed  Peanuts 


Several  prominent  growers,  who  have  been 
improving  their  seed  for  several  years,  for 
their  own  use  solely,  have,  at  the  request  of 
the  AMERICAN  NUT  JOURNAL,  devoted 
larger  areas  to  seed  patches  and  therefore 
have  some  seed  to  spare. 
We  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  all  persons 
desiring  any  variety  of  Seed  Peanuts,  and 
shall  take  pleasure  in  referring  them  to  such 
growers  as  may  be  able  to  furnish  them 
with   some   improved   seed. 


na/rite:    ror    irviF-oRiviA-rioN. 


AMERICAN  NUT  JOURNAL, 

PETERSBURG,  VA. 


m 


Advertisements. 


6< 


FOR  sale: 


Improved  Seed  Peanuts. 

THE  LEADING  VARIETIES : 
Running  or  Flat  Virginias ;  Spanish ; 


Running  and  Bunch  Jumbos. 


PLANTED  AND  CULTIVATED 
ESPECIALLY    FOR    SEED    PURPOSES. 


FINEST  VARIETY   OF  SPANISH 


THE    RUNNING   JUMBO 

variety  is  the  largest  grown  in  this  country, 

and  yields  from  125  to  175  nuts 

.    .    to  the  hill.    .    . 

B5®".-vVrite  for  samples  and  prices. 

El.    T.    SHACKEILFORD, 

PETERSBURG,  VA. 
Reference  :    Editor  American  Nut  Journal. 


68 


Advertiskments. 


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Case / 

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